Once the richest man in the world, Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was born on December 24th 1905.

The germ phobic billionaire cum Hollywood lothario began his ascent upon his father’s death, stepping in to run the family business. Movies soon beckoned; Hughes went on to produce gritty classics like Jean Harlow’s Hell's Angels (1930), which sparked his interest in flying, and the heavily censored Scarface (1932), which Hughes sued to get released – he also built Texas Theater where decades later, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested. This was one of several rumored links Hughes had with the Mob and the CIA, including a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro with two heads of organized crime.

By the 30’s Hughes formed Hughes Aircraft Company, initially to finance the costly conversion of a military plane into a racing plane. He broke several aviation records over the next several years but shifted focus upon WWII. Despite resistance, Hughes eventually won an $18 million contract to build three “flying boats”. The contract went unfulfilled and “The Spruce Goose” was flown only once by Hughes himself in 1947. Hughes’ failure led to Senate investigations. He survived the inquiries, made nice, and manufactured spy satellites during the 50’s.

Other famous Hughes business maneuvers include buying RKO Pictures (1948), selling it a few years later only to buy it outright in 1954 and sell it again, one year later.

Despite his accomplishments Hughes became a recluse, selling Hughes Tool Company in 1972 and hiding out in luxury hotels, a medicated drug user. He died April 5th, 1976 in a private jet en route to Houston, so disheveled, and with so few witnesses to his later life, that his body had to be identified by fingerprints from the Treasury Department.

This Week in Wall Street History

12/24/07