Paris Hilton has built a reputation within the global cosmetic and beauty industry through brand endorsements and product sales. The American socialite, model, actress, and entrepreneur boasts a $300 million net worth as of January 2025.
Paris is the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, the founder of the Hilton Hotels franchise. Despite hailing from a wealthy family, she had to grow her wealth by sheer grind and wit.
To date, the American businesswoman has endorsed over 17 fragrances which have grossed over $2 billion in revenue. A substantial amount of Paris’s net worth is derived from her fragrance royalties, where she earns between 20% to 30% of the profits from this line.
Paris’ licensing business currently encompasses retail outlets worldwide that offer Paris-branded apparel, handbags, perfumes, and various other products.
Background
Paris Hilton was born Paris Whitney Hilton on February 17, 1981, to businessman Richard Hilton and Kathy Hilton, a former actress and socialite. She is the eldest of four siblings.
Modelling Career
Paris began modelling during her days in elementary school and was later signed by T Management. She participated in numerous advertising campaigns, collaborating with prestigious agencies such as Ford Models and renowned brands including Guess, Christian Dior, and Marciano, among others.
Her success in the field through 2001, coupled with her extravagant lifestyle, led her to cross paths with high-profile individuals, including celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio.
Sextape
In 2003, Paris’ then-boyfriend, renowned American poker player Rick Salomon, released an explicit video of the two. He marketed and sold the tapes with the title “1 Night in Paris”. She sued and was reportedly compensated $400,000 from the tapes.
Three weeks after the sex tape was released, Paris Hilton debuted her first television series, “The Simple Life” in collaboration with her childhood friend Nicole Richie. The show depicted two socialites navigating challenges of the real world through blue-collar jobs and everyday tasks, such as milking cows.
The reality TV show weathered concerns of the sextape scandal hurting sales to become one of the most watched programs. The show earned her guest appearances on Saturday Night Live (SNL) hosted by Jimmy Fallon.
The Simple Life aired for five seasons, establishing Paris as a serious player within the media industry. She followed it up with other projects such as “The World According to Paris,” “Hollywood Love Story,” “This Is Paris,” and more recently, “Cooking with Paris” and “Paris in Love.”
Losing out on Inheritance worth Billions
Barron Hilton, the grandfather of Paris Hilton, was allegedly so embarrassed by his granddaughters’ behaviour that in 2007, he modified his will to allocate 97% of his $4.5 billion estate to charitable organizations rather than to his family.
Following the ratification, instead of approximately twenty individuals receiving an inheritance of $4.5 billion, equating to about $190 million each, these same individuals ended up sharing only 3% of the total fortune. This resulted in a combined inheritance of $135 million, translating to roughly $5.6 million per person.
Publications
Paris Hilton is a published author, with some of her work making it to the New York Times best-seller list.
In 2004, she wrote “Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Cheek Peek Behind the Pose” in conjunction with author Merle Ginsberg. The book made its way to the “New York Times” best-seller list.
She released another book in 2005 titled “Your Heiress Diary: Confess It All To Me.”
Other ventures
In 2004, Paris started her own perfume line and a nightclub franchise. Towards the end of 2005, Hilton began to work on designing her own jewelry line.
She entered the world of DJing in the early 2010s, and, according to “Time” magazine, Paris had established herself as the highest-paid female DJ in 2014.
Hilton released a tracksuit line, collaborated with Quay Australia on a sunglasses collection, and joined the cast of the YouTube animated web series “Rainbow High” in 2022. She released “Paris: The Memoir” in 2023 and runs the “I am Paris” podcast on iHeartRadio.
Real Estate
In 2007, Paris Hilton acquired a residence in a secure gated community located in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles for $5.9 million. This property was notably targeted by the infamous “Bling Ring.” Prior to this, she owned a $6.2 million residence in Beverly Hills as well as a property in the Hollywood Hills.
In 2014, Hilton purchased a penthouse in downtown Manhattan for $4.9 million.
In August 2021, Paris and Carter Reum invested $8.4 million in an oceanfront property in Malibu. Unfortunately, this house was entirely consumed by the Palisades Fire in January 2025.
In February 2023, it was reported that Hilton and Reum relocated to a mansion in Beverly Park, which had previously been listed for rent at $160,000 per month.
