We should probably talk about this guy named Howard Hughes.

"I intend to be the finest film producer in Hollywood, the greatest pilot in the world, and the richest man in the world."

Who knew, but I'm sort of extremely fascinated by the man.

The guy was a straight-up genius, in every sense of the word.

Mostly, he'll be remembered for his pretty reclusive and eccentric lifestyle,
and for the "crazy" behavior he exhibited as a result of his rather severe obsessive compulsive disorder. But his mind is unlike any other in the history of human existence. 

My interest in the life of H.H. admittedly began after watching Leonardo DiCapprio's astounding betrayal of him in the movie The Aviator. (Speaking of genius, can we touch on Leo's acting abilities? Incredible. You can bet I'll be seeing Titanic again in theaters in a few weeks). Not coincidentally, a few days after watching the movie for the first time, I learned that a man who lived up the street from me had worked in Hughes's inner circle. So, I took the opportunity to learn about a man 
who made is mark in history by doing something so seemingly rare in today's world: working hard.

_________

Hughes was born into money; his dad was an oil tycoon who manufactured drill bits. Both of Hughes's parents, however, died when he was real young. Hughes used his inheritance to get a start in the motion picture business. He filmed his first movie, Hell's Angels, and it cost him almost 4 million dollars. He filmed and re-filmed it several times, and just when the production team thought they were finished, Hughes decided to re-film it again, this time as a "talkie." 

Sound technology in motion pictures was new and costly, and everyone that Hughes was crazy, but that movie made back double of what it had costed Hughes to produce it, and its premiere was the biggest and most glamorous in the history of Hollywood.

After Hell's Angels, Hughes became obsessed with aviation. He founded an aviation company, and for the next decade, he broke and re-broke every aviation speed record, including the fastest trip across the Atlantic, and later, the fastest trip around the world. Hughes, hired by the United States Airforce to create a plane that could carry soldiers, cargo, tanks, trucks, and weapons, later designed the largest plane in history; a "flying boat." The Airforce told him he couldn't use aluminum in the plane's construction, so he just used wood instead. 

Later, Hughes was summoned to a senatorial committee charged to investigate Hughes Aircraft's inability to deliver several aircrafts it was paid in contract to develop for the U.S. Airforce. Hughes, in his testimony, claimed that Senator Owen Brewster, the senator who was heading the committee, was being bribed to investigate Hughes by a friend, Juan Trippe. 

Juan was the founder and CEO of Pan American Airlines, which was at the time promoting a bill in the Senate that would prohibit any other airline (including Hughes's) from flying trans-Atlantic routes, effectively giving Pan Am a monopoly on the market. If Juan could bring down Hughes and push the bill through, he would have complete control on flights around the world. In the hearing meant to condemn Hughes, Hughes turned it around a brought the attention to a corrupt politician and a wealthy businessman who was exploiting the American system in order to exploit the American people. 

The Aviator's portrayal of the committee hearing is excellent, but I couldn't find a video. Instead, I quote Leonardo DiCaprio's portrayal of Hughes:

Senator Brewster: "Mr. Hughes, did you receive $32 million dollars to manufacture XF-spy planes for the United States Air Force?"

Howard Hughes: "I did."

"How many functional planes did you deliver?"

"None."

"Did you receive 7 million to manufacture a prototype for a flying boat known as the Hercules?"

"I did."

"And did you deliver that plane?"

"I did not."

"So by your admission in this chamber, Mr. Hughes, you have received 40 million dollars from the United States government for planes that you never delivered."

"That is correct."

"Well excuse me for asking, Mr. Hughes, but where did all that money go?"

"Well it went into the planes, Senator. And a lot more. I put my money into the planes. My money. See, the thing is, I care very much about aviation. It has been the great joy of my life. That's why I put my own money into these planes. And I've lost millions, Senator, and I'll go on losing millions. It's just what I do---"

"---You've made your point, Mr. Hughes."

"One second. I have just one more thing to say here to this committee. And that has to do with the Hercules. Now, I am supposed to be many things which are complimentary. I am supposed to be capricious. I've been called a playboy. I've even been called an eccentric. But I do not believe that I have the reputation of being a liar. Needless to say, the Hercules was a monumental undertaking. It is the largest plane ever built. It is over five stories tall with a wingspan longer than a football field. That's more than a city block. 

Now, I put the sweat of my life into this. I got my reputation all rolled up in it. I have stated several times that if the Hercules fails to fly, I will leave this country and never come back. And I mean it. 

Now, you can subpoena me, you can arrest me, you can even claim I've folded up and taken a run-out powder, but, well, I've had just about enough of this nonsense. Good afternoon."

"I intend to be the finest film producer in Hollywood, the greatest pilot in the world, and the richest man in the world."

Hughes was worth $1.5 billion dollars at the end of his life in 1976.

He died on an airplane.