William Randolph Hearst was born in 1863, the only child to a fabulously wealthy family. Treated like royalty from
the day he was born, Hearst grew up to be one of those people who are not afraid of anything -- having never been
denied anything in his life.
At 25, Hearst asked for and was given control of failing newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner, which
his father had received as payment for a gambling debt. Within a few years, Hearst had created an empire - at his
peak owning 28 major newspapers and 18 magazines, along with several radio stations and movie companies.
Although married since 1903 and a father of five, Hearst - at age 55 - fell in love with a 20-year-old starlet named
Marion Davies. When his wife refused to grant him a divorce, Hearst simply moved the wife and kids to one estate
while he and Davies moved into his castle on a 240,000-acre ranch at San Simeon, California.
Jammed with rare art and antiques, Hearst Castle was everything that Hearst was: bloated and extravagant.
Celebrities regularly made the trek up from Los Angeles for he and Davies' infamous weeklong parties. The Great
Depression hit Hearst hard, though. By 1937, he was selling off his newspapers and art collections to pay the bills.
The film "Citizen Kane", was another nail in the coffin of Hearst's empire. Starring Orson
Welles, the film was a barely disguised account of Hearst's incredible life. Hearst was livid that Davies was
depicted as a gold-digging tramp and did everything he could to prevent the film from being released. He failed,
though, and after its release he and Davies went into seculsion.
Hearst died in his sleep in 1947. Though publicly accepted as Hearst's companion for more than 35 years, Davies
was barred from attending his funeral and the spot Hearst had reserved for her in the family masoleum was removed.
Davies died from cancer in 1961 and is buried in Los Angeles.
In December 2002, I took a roadtrip down to San Simeon to visit Hearst Castle. Click here to read about it.
