Howard Hughes, Eccentric Billionaire

Born: December 24, 1905 Died: April 05, 1976

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was a US businessman recognized for his accomplishments and contributions as an aviator,engineer,industrialist and film producer. He was, in his time, famed as a playboy, one of the richest men in the world, and in his last years, a recluse.

Howard was an only child. During his childhood, his father was in constant business trips leaving him to the care of his mother who was obsessed with cleanliness and who had greatly influenced him in protecting himself from germs and diseases. Howard's mother would personally bathe him, rubbing lye on his ears to the ends of his toes. Reportedly, she would meticulously review the naked body of her young son checking his teeth, ears, genitals, elbows and knees. Psychologists would later label her behavior as "emotionally incestousa". At age 18 and upon the death of his father,Howard inherited an estate worth $871,000 and a patent to an oil-drilling tool,which was manufactured by his late father's Hughes Tool Company. During his entire life, Howard consistently exhibited an obsessive-compulsive behavior and it was speculated that by the late 1950's or earlier, he developed symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

In 1966, at the age of 60, Howard mysteriously withdrew from the public's eye.Such behavior further heightened the media's curiosity. Tabloids tagged him: an eccentric recluse. During this period of self-imposed hermitage, Howard had become a sick man resulting from his unsubstantial eating habit and excessive use of drugs.

Howard was 70 years old when he finally succumbed to kidney failure. At the time of his death, X-ray results disclosed grave malnutrition among other conditions. The first doctor to examine Howard concluded the cause of his demise as neglect.

Because he did not leave a will, Howard's estate, estimated at $2.3 billion, became a subject of a much-publicized extensive litigation.

Howard Hughes was the first american billionaire.

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