Hughes was born in Texas on 24th of December 1905 to a wealthy family, in spite of his parent's wealth; he still had the urge to succeed in life. His father earned millions for his invention of the Hughes Rock Bit, which is a machine that was used to drill oil from its rich reserves, this was vital in the oil refinery industry yet this was no assurance of a smooth life for Hughes, he faced numerous obstacles in his quest but he was optimistic, persistent, and a risk-driven individual. Notably, some of the challenges involved losing his mother at age of sixteen, two years later he lost his father, and he had to comeback from several financial hitches among other challenges. As a result of his business minded, Hughes became the richest man in the 20th century. Arguably, Hughes was an investor, aviator, film maker, aerospace engineer, hotelier, industrialist, and a philanthropist, all of which he pursued to make profit. Hughes success depended on his attributes that included risk taking, independence, controlling, and his persistence in his endeavors. After his parents died, he inherited a fortune that approximately $1 million, which he used to invest as a young entrepreneur. Markedly, it is evident that Howard Hughes invested in diverse business ventures over the course of his lifetime.
Hughes began the journey as a film producer, writer, and director, whose first two films were a big hit; the films are “Everybody’s Acting” and “Arabian Nights”, which gave him a stable economic platform where he invested much of his money for at least 30 years making a $6 million profit. In essence, the two movies achieved a greater financial success. Justifiably, another movie that placed Hughes on higher ranks in the movie industry was the “Arabian Nights” that was nominated and won the Academy Award as the best director. Other films included Scarface, The Outlaw, The Racket, and Hell’s Angel among many other films (Brown & Broeske 2004). His passion for the entertainment industry made him buy and control RKO film studios before later selling it for $25 million. Hughes also produced several other hit movies featuring the best stars of that time making more money from the industry. The studio had a profound Cinema effect in the 1920s on American soil and the rest of the world, which increased the amount generated by the movie production.
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Hughes obtained a junior pilot license when he was 14 years due to his love and passion for aviation that made him venture into the industry as an investment. In the 1920s he managed to buy a used Army Air corps racer, he then hired the best designers and engineers to remodel the space craft into the world high speed ever known aircraft. He worked closely with his staffs to achieve the success he desired as he was able to build an H-I aircraft that became the world fastest aircraft with a speed of 352 mph. Furthermore, his engineering inventions in the aviation industry, made Hughes to significantly contribute to the military and civil aviation industry in the United States of America (Coppola 2001). Apparently, most of his design innovations are still applied in the aviation industry, which includes all rivets, retractable landing gear, and the joint set flush developed in aircraft to reduce drag. Moreover, Hughes earned millions of dollars from the various military contracts he received. For instance, building a flying military air boat-plane that was to carry troops and supply weapons during WWII and an experimental spy plane for the U.S. army. Besides, he commercialized airlines; he bought the TWA airlines for approximately $7 million, which he later sold for a net profit of $540 million years later. At the time he bought TWA airlines, it had struggled due to inadequate capital that was required to buy new aircraft to help the business stay competitive. Notably, Hughes was able to make a major turnaround for the company by venturing into the most attractive appearance planes with high speed that revitalized the company.
Even though his aviation entrepreneurial path was unclear and rocky when he started the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1932, he did not worry about the losses his company was likely to incur but rather he was driven by the desire to succeed and make money. In fact, Hughes was convinced that he could provide the best aviation services that were available in the 20th century. To prove to the whole world, he got hold of his abilities and potency of his ideas, which in turn, kept him on toes despite encountering several failures at some points in his quest. His persistence was vital for the success he enjoyed in the end as Hughes Aircraft Company introduced some of the best aviation innovation through engineering, which brought development of an advanced aerospace technology that was widely accepted. He participated in all innovations and tested the planes by flying them by himself. His controlling and compulsive behavior almost cost him his life when he was involved a serious plane crash that had lost control yet these attributes, in the end, made him a strong and powerful entrepreneur.
Hughes survived a series of plane crashes but he almost lost his life in the 1946 plane crash, when the plane he was flying lost control and crashed in a residential home near Beverly Hills, the accident left most of his bones either broken or fractured. He became addicted to morphine, which was the drug the doctor had prescribed to relieve him from the pain he was experiencing at that time (Sarachek 1978). Hughes also suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder and paranoia, which became worse over time due to drug addiction yet in spite of the suffering he was not deterred to pursue new ways to increase his wealth. He discovered that Nevada was the ideal place for the establishment of his new investment, and so he arrived in Las Vegas on the eve of the Thanksgiving Day, in 1966.Hughes then moved on to begin a gambling and casino industry business. While in Las Vegas Hughes stayed in Desert Inn, where he isolated himself from the public for four years making investment ideas that changed the face of the town. Hughes purchased several hotels, which included Desert Inn, casinos, Alamo airlines, a television station, and approximately 25,000 acres of property in Las Vegas. His speculation in real estate drove him to acquire six casinos and several TV stations that immensely expanded his wealth to over $1 billion. The examples of the property Hughes bought in Las Vegas includes the Frontier, the Silver Slipper, the Landmark, the Castaways, Alamo Airways, the Sands, North Las Vegas Airport, and some underdeveloped land, which made him own one-third of real estate in Las Vegas. The move changed the town from a high crime place by driving out mobsters and changing gambling into a legitimate industry, as a result the town was seen as a place of high status and glamour.
References
Brown, P. H., & Broeske, P. H. (2004). Howard Hughes: The Untold Story . Da Capo Press.
Coppola, B. P. (2001). The Technology Transfer Dilemma . Hyle.
Sarachek, B. (1978). American Entrepreneurs and the Horatio Alger Myth. The Journal of Economic History.
