Paris Hilton loses inheritance

News.com ^ | 7/30/07

[Borges]

Party princess Paris Hilton is $60 million out of pocket after her billionaire grandfather - appalled by her jail term for drink-driving offences - axed her inheritance.

Family patriarch Barron Hilton was already embarrassed by his granddaughter's wild behaviour - notably when her home sex video was leaked on the internet.

But the 79-year-old considered her 23-day sentence last month the last straw.

"He was, and is, extremely embarrassed by how the Hilton name has been sullied by Paris," says Jerry Oppenheimer, who wrote a biography of the clan called House Of Hilton.

[JRios1968]

I only posted this story in News because of its sense of ‘finality’

It's not over, my FRiend...it's not over.

[paltz]

Well Conrad Hilton originally left the majorty of his money to Catholic charities until Barron contested the will in the late 70’s. Funny how things go around in a big circle

[dfwgator]

“We’ll always have Paris.”

[wideawake]

Here is what I think actually happened:

The bulk of any Hilton's inheritance would have been in the form of shares of HLT stock, and these shares would have been held in trust until the heir reached a certain age.

There would have been a number of interlocking trusts with various restrictions on the disposition of shares in such a way that family control of the company could not be sold away by a single family member without consultation.

However, three weeks ago, the Hilton family sold the company to Blackstone for $26B in cash.

This would have removed the entire rationale for the system of trusts in place prior to the transaction, and I am sure her trust - along with many others - was revoked as a result.

The taxes resulting from such a sale are enormous - they can only be avoided by placing the transaction proceeds in a charitable trust to be administered by a committee of trustees.

I am sure her existing trust was permanently revoked - but not for the reasons the scandalsheets allege.

[Holicheese]

After I was not adopted by angelina Jolie I was really bummed. Now I have some light at the end of the tunnel.

[LibWhacker]

That’s right, I saw her on tv reminding people not to forget, she’s a bidnesswoman in her own right.

[Leg Olam]

Barron is smart enough to leave her $1.00 and nullify any challenge to his will. That happened to several of my relatives who pissed off my Great Grandfather. The old man doesn’t own the company anymore but somehow I think he’s still calling the shots with the family and remember we’re talking about a whole lot more than just a few million.

[paltz]

on top of all that, I seriously doubt the famil will leave her destititute to fend for herself. While she may not have her inheritance any more, she still may have current flow of income and ownerhips in various areas like real estate and other income generating ventures.

[rockrr]

Poor little rich girl ;'}

[Law is not justice but process]

Having a baby ... hmm, an interesting PR gambit. I suspect Paris is a bit too self-centered for that, though. I can only imagine the conversation with her publicist:

Publicist: Lindsay and Brittany have really eaten into your press coverage with their latest breakdowns. Some polling data suggests the nation is tiring of such petty antics. We did some focus group work and determined that the best course for you to increase your visibility and marketability is either to have sex with a sperm whale on national television or to have a baby.

Paris: Oh God, not the sperm whale again . . .

[Jaysun]

You better go on a spending spree before you die gramps, lest the little tramp still get some later.

[ontap]

You haven’t heard about her Home sex video?

[353FMG]

Somehow I think she’ll never go hungry.

[SteveMcKing]

Yeah, I guess the baby-solution doesn’t work so well with celebrities. Too much evidence... their past really stays with them.

[ontap]

Lack of money is one thing that is not going to hamper Paris!!!

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

This really makes no sense unless it is a tax dodge. IIRC,Barron's Dad left all of his money to the Catholic Church and Barron sued to get it back.

It would be the height of hypocracy for him to then turn around and donate it all to a charity and cut the family out.

[ontap]

Modeling and endorsements.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

No. Was it an instructional video ?

[Gay State Conservative]

Barron is smart enough to leave her $1.00 and nullify any challenge to his will.

That's not the way it works.In every state (except,I believe,Louisiana)if a person is related to a deceased person in certain ways (child,spouse,sibling,etc) *or* if they've been given something of value in a previous will written by the deceased that person has "standing" to challenge a will in a probate court.

Challenges can be based on illness (mental or otherwise),undue influence and other things.

Assuming that Paris was ever a beneficiary of a will written by her grandfather she can challenge any subsequent one.And one might assume that the basis of her challenge would be illness ("my grandpa wasn't in his right mind when he wrote the will(s) that disinherited me") or undue influence ("my uncle/cousin,etc lied to my grandfather and conspired against me in order to enrich himself").

A challenge by her wouldn't necessarily be successful if decided by a judge or a jury but oftentimes the executor might settle out of court with a challenger in order to save time and money (will challenges are usually very expensive and very lengthy).So she might be thrown a few million by the executor in order to make her go away.

[ontap]

Yep!