A very noble undertaking, and clearly one with strong legs beneath it—the program’s major backers are MGM Mirage, Station Casinos, Harrah’s Entertainment, Boyd Gaming and the Nevada Community Foundation, and its newly elected CEO is Julie Murray, who most recently served as the campaign director of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation. A very noble undertaking, indeed, with skilled leadership and deep-pocket investors.
That said, I hate to make the following admission, I really do, because my attention should not have wandered for even one millisecond from this righteous cause, but ... I just could not help but think of Paris Hilton, and how unfortunate it is for the memory of her great-grandfather, Conrad, that hers is the image defining the name Hilton amongst the masses today.
I mean, by all accounts her great-grandfather was this God-fearing, altruistic giver who was all about helping people. And I quote: "It is our duty to care for those who cannot care for themselves," taken from the final will and testament of Conrad Hilton.
Here’s the two-minute history of the Hilton fortune: Conrad Hilton was born in New Mexico in 1887 to immigrant parents, and, to make a long story short, he basically worked his ass off founding the Hilton Hotel chain. He had four children, one with Elizabeth Taylor, and he died in 1979 at the age of 91. Through his will, he left the bulk of his estate to his namesake charitable foundation and to the Roman Catholic Church, leaving close to nothing to his children. One of his sons, Barron (Paris’ grandfather) contested the will based on his lifelong career working to build the hotel company and won his lawsuit in 1988. In the Forbes 400, which lists the 400 richest Americans, Barron Hilton’s worth in 2005 was $1 billion, of which Paris is in line to receive a hefty portion.
Now, as far as charitable causes go, you name it and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has been involved—housing for the mentally ill and homeless, early childhood education programs, substance abuse prevention and education, safe water development programs for rural villages in Ghana, Mali and Niger. The foundation even works with blindness-related services and prevention. How much more charitable can you get than that?
Then, quickly flash to the ever-frequent face of Paris Hilton on Page Six for, I don’t know, porn scandals, urinating in taxicabs, the occasional DUI.
It’s like there’s this big Hilton machine out there with two functioning branches. One is loitering in clubs, being a pseudo-pop star and dating every rock star, professional athlete and Greek shipping heir it can get its grubby little paws on. While the other is feeding the poor, leading the blind, cradling children and generally attempting to alleviate human suffering throughout the world. It’s shocking, really. Of course, I don’t know Paris Hilton personally. And it is possible, I suppose, that she spends her Tuesday afternoons wielding a ladle at a soup kitchen or saving abandoned puppies or something. I have also never had a sit-down with Conrad. So it is also a possibility that he was a right bastard who would just as soon kick a man when he’s down before lending him a hand. Who really knows? But experience has taught me that when in doubt, let the money do the talking. And Conrad, via his last will and testament, articulated his character pretty clearly. Again I quote: "There is a natural law, a Divine law, that obliges you and me to relieve the suffering, the distressed and the destitute. Charity is a supreme virtue, and the great channel through which the mercy of God is passed on to mankind. It is the virtue that unites men and inspires their noblest efforts"
Here’s the tree, and way, way over there fell the apple.
To be fair, Paris has donated to charity. In fact, the New York Daily News reported that the blond bombshell donated to "worthy charities" every penny of the $400,000 settlement she received from her lawsuit against ex-beau Rick Salomon over the sex video, One Night in Paris, that he leaked on the Internet and made bank selling.