LOS ANGELES – Poor Paris. Poor Nikki.
Well, not THAT poor. But hotel heir-heads Paris and Nikki Hilton can't take it to the bank now that their grandfather Barron Hilton announced he'll leave the bulk of his estimated $2.5 billion fortune to charity.
The 80-year-old Hilton bequeathed $2.231 billion charitable use, including an immediate $1.2 billion to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, a charity founded by his father in 1944.
• Photos: Paris Hilton
• Photos: Nikki Hilton
"We are all exceedingly proud and grateful for this extraordinary commitment," Hilton's son Steven M. Hilton, president and chief executive of the foundation, said in a statement.
"Working to alleviate human suffering around the globe, regardless of race, religion or geography, is the mandate of the foundation set by my grandfather ... and now reinforced by my father."
The funds will partly come from the sale of the Hilton Hotels Corp. to The Blackstone Group.
The money will go into a trust but eventually will find its way to the foundation.
The elder Hilton reportedly was upset with the hard-partying antics of his granddaughters, with Paris' jail experience being the last straw.
That ONLY leaves about $69 million to be distributed upon his death to the rest of the family, including his famous hard-partying granddaughters.
Hilton had indicated at a recent board meeting that he would follow in his father's footstep by leaving nearly all of his fortune to the trust when he died in 1979.
The charity has distributed more than $560 million for programs that house mentally ill homeless people, prevent substance abuse and increase access to safe water in Africa and Mexico. A significant portion of the money helps the work of Catholic Sisters.
So will Paris and Nikki be left out in the cold? No worries, as both are finally beginning to earn their own way in fashion, music and TV ventures.
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