Did you Cry/Smirk/Giggle or Laugh? Be Honest

Paris and Nicky Hilton's heiress status is being threatened. Granddaddy Barron Hilton, is giving away 97% of his billion dollar fortune to charity; his net worth is estimated at $2.3 Bn. Barron's donation includes a $1.2 Bn pledge to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation (named after his father).

Word on the street is that the hard partying, uncouth Hilton sisters have been an embarrassment to the family name and that Barron's actions are his way of getting revenge on the notorious blondes (well, to be fair, it's more Paris than Nicky).

So, what do you think? How do you feel? Sad for the ladies? Or is that a smile I see?

For more on Barron's slight, see the following article from the New York Post:

PARIS STIFFED
GRAMP'S REVENGE ON HILTON SISTERS: CHARITY TO GET $$
By BILL HOFFMANN

December 27, 2007 -- Hotel billionaire Barron Hilton is stiffing his high-living, hard-partying granddaughters, Paris and Nicky, yesterday announcing plans to give 97 percent of his vast fortune to charity.

His plan includes a $1.2 billion pledge to the Con rad N. Hilton Foundation, named after his father - a donation that includes the windfall from the recent sale of Hilton Hotels Corp. and the pending sale of the world's biggest casino company, Harrah's Enter tainment Inc.

Barron Hilton, 80, chair man of the foundation, intends "to contribute 97 percent of his entire net worth, estimated today at $2.3 billion, including the created trusts, at whatever value it is at the time of his passing," the foundation declared.

There was no immediate comment from Paris.

But family expert Jerry Oppenheimer, author of "House of Hilton," has told The Post that Paris has been an "embarrassment" for the bluebloods, sullying the family name with her vacuous antics.

"Speaking for the family as well as the foundation, we are all exceedingly proud and grateful for this extraordinary commitment," said Steven Hilton, one of Barron's sons and president and chief executive of the foundation.

The "that's hot" model and "Simple Life" reality TV star has been a symbol of celebrity privilege for years, gaining infamy in 2003 when a sex tape of her and a boyfriend made the Internet rounds.

She managed to parlay the notoriety into a celebrity career, including her TV show, a book, a music album and film roles.

This year, she slipped back into infamy with more than three weeks in jail for violating probation in a drunken-driving case.

Barron Hilton's plans for his $1.2 billion windfall is the year's second-largest publicly announced donation, right behind Leona Helmsley's $4 billion to a foundation under her family's name.

The Hilton foundation was established in 1944; Conrad Hilton died in 1979, and left virtually all his money, including his reported 27 percent controlling stake in Hilton Hotels, to the charity.

Barron challenged the will and, after a nearly decade-long legal struggle, reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement to split ownership of the shares with the foundation in 1988.
The hotel group was sold for $20 billion in October to Blackstone Group; the acquisition of Harrah's is due to be completed in early 2008.

The Hilton Foundation describes its mission as "to relieve the suffering, the distressed and the destitute."

Among its interests are projects that provide clean water in Africa, education for blind children, housing for the mentally ill, the work of Roman Catholic sisters, and substance abuse.