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Hilton hotel mogul donates 1.2 bln dlrs to foundation

Other News Materials 27 December 2007 01:27 (UTC +04:00)

( AFP )- Hotel magnate Barron Hilton has pledged 1.2 billion dollars to a family charitable foundation and plans to leave the bulk of his fortune to the body when he dies, a statement said Wednesday.

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation said its chairman would place 1.2 billion dollars from the sale of Hilton Hotels Corporation and the pending sale of Harrah's Entertainment into a charitable trust to benefit the foundation.

Hilton, 80, also indicated at a recent meeting of the foundation's board of directors that he intends to leave 97 percent of his entire net worth -- estimated at 2.3 billion dollars -- to the foundation at the time of his death.

"Speaking for the family as well as the foundation, we are all exceedingly proud and grateful for this extraordinary commitment," said Steven M. Hilton, president and chief executive of the foundation.

The foundation was set up Barron Hilton's father Conrad in 1944 and funds humanitarian initiatives such as providing water and sanitation systems in developing countries, housing for mentally ill homeless people in the United States and blindness prevention and treatment worldwide.

Barron Hilton is the paternal grandfather of celebrity socialites Paris and Nicky Hilton.

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