Conrad Hilton founded the company when he opened the Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas in 1919. He bought several more hotels in the years following.
In 1925 Hilton opened the high-rise Dallas Hilton, the first hotel to carry the Hilton name.
In 1943 Hilton purchased the Roosevelt and Plaza hotels in New York City, and in 1949 the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.
In 1967 Hilton International was acquired by Trans World Airlines.
In 2006 Hilton Hotels Corporation reacquired Hilton International, reuniting the companies for the first time in 40 years.
In 2007 Hilton Hotels Corporation was bought by private equity firm the Blackstone Group.
In 2013 the company announced that it would file an IPO.
Today HIlton Worldwide operates the brands Wadorf Astoria, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Grand Vacations, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton, Homewood Suites, and Home2 Suites by Hilton.
Hilton Worldwide is #37 on the Forbes list of America’s Largest Private Companies, has 130,000 employees, and had $8 billion in revenue in 2011.
