The Secret History: Howard Hughes, Bizarre Billionaire (2/5)

How and why did a man so rich, so accomplished and so visible become so reclusive, phobic and fragile? Recent medical discoveries may explain the bizarre billionaire.

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People & Blogs

Tags:

• howard
• hughes
• aircraft
• hollywood
• billionaire
• mental
• illness
• aviator
• engineer
• houston
• texas

[drewnwalker]

He wasn't "mad" or "insane". He had injuries and was a genius. So what if he was an introvert. I respect him more than I do most people today.

[cedrikledlp]

This brilliant guy suffered from OCB (obsessive compulsive behaviour) (like Jack Nicholson in the movie ' as good as it gets) After his accidents, HH was given morphin because of his injuries, then became addicted. Then he became a junky with the help of his chief of staff who would trade morphin shots for signatures (!) giving him and the rest of the close staff, more and more of HH'assets until he was no longer worth being kept alive...

[ryanranger]

@cedrikledlp Sounds like you finished watching the special already. I'm going to see the spruce within the next couple days. All these years I've been oblivious to the fact The Hercules is only AN HOURS DRIVE away from me in Portland Oregon! I am STOKED! Maybe I'll post after I see it. I wonder if they let you inside the plane? I sure hope so. I'd hate to only see it cosmetically. Oh, bye the way, it wasn't Jack Nicholson in the movie. It was Leo dicaprio. Hard to mix the two but whatever...

[ryanranger]

@drewnwalker You're not wrong necessarily but I have a feeling you haven't finished this special yet. Though I'm sure you have by now. Do you still feel that he was just an introvert?

[BaracudaNetwork]

Its funny how all of you 'know' so much about Howard Hughes conveniently following these videos. Some of these comments are repulsive. Everything is a 'who is bigger' contest, get a grip people. Howard Hughes was not a poser like most men in the world. He lived his life the way he wanted, he was himself. We all have the ability to be brilliant geniuses if we can shed our skins and be ourselves. Do not try to live your life via someone else, be yourself. Only god can initiate you now.

[onstageagain]

@tubub Most geniuses aren't necessarily eccentric & live relatively normal lives & prefer to live in their own heads, with their thoughts, they never become socialized like other people , & will likely find conversations about sports & celebrities insane, so he'll avoid participating in social activities & consider them a waste of time. Resulting , when he's required to attend a social event, he's awkward & probably seems weird b/c his conversations will be limited to his obsessions.

[onstageagain]

@ozzyhead73 Hughes died in physical poverty & didn't make sense compared to his wealth. Later life mirrored a homeless beggar as he shuffled through his house with Kleenex boxes for shoes. A man who simply gave fear permission to consume & alter his reality. When people consider the life of Hughes there is much to celebrate & much to mourn. Fear... any fear takes a tremendous toll when allowed to grow. Why? It never stops with one & fear or phobias are always control freaks!

[onstageagain]

@tubub Eccentrics... It’s hard to imagine having access to millions at age 19, then making decisions that cause millions to continue to impact Ur life. Course that came at a price. These funds were inherited. His Own Words, I’m not a paranoid deranged millionaire, I’m a billionaire. The door to the cabinet is to be opened using min of 15 Kleenexes.

Wash 4 distinct & separate times, using lots of lather each time from different bars of soap.

My father told me, never have partners

[tubub]

@onstageagain

Most geniuses are eccentrics. Steve Jobs was a major asshole and had a lot of weird notions about things(his obsession with dietary habits killed him), and that's just one example.

Hughes was a visionary and genius. I'm not sure if he'd accomplished everything without his inheritance, but it doesn't really matter anyway.

It was Howard Hughes who made Hells Angels, Howard Hughes who made the Spruce Goose, Howard Hughes who accomplished amazing feats. Not his parents.

[onstageagain]

On display in Ca in Long Beach for many years I took the tour and was on the inside of this Spruce Goose... also ... My dear family friend designs planes and works for the studios making exact models to use in films.... His plant is in riverside Ca... and he and his crew constructed the plane model used in the movie Aviator. These were film moguls involved and stories were rampid about Hughes ... I heard many stories from my friend Toni that were swerling around his plant during the project.

[vorjay]

@onstageagain uhm yea. Howard Hughes had OCD...it wen't beyond shaking hands. He was terrible of Germs and bacterial infections. His mother also showed serious signs of OCD and constantly warned Hughes about germs.

[onstageagain]

@tubub Hughes was a flashy pilot-breaking records, achieving, Lindbergh-like fame,around-the-world in 38- he was a visionary in aviation tech. Craving recognition in all he attempted ,he wanted to fly higher, faster & farther & pushed engineers relentlessly, often resulting in breakthroughs. He had dads $-$ to hire the best. Its easy to rem his weird eccentricities , If not for dads $, probably been put in a funny farm. Rem Hughes as he would have wanted it, as the Aviator.