If you think about visionary entrepreneurs, Howard Hughes might not be the one that comes to mind. Not only did he inherit a cash machine from his father, but he also saw bribes as an integral part of doing business.

During his life he experienced a lot of ups and downs. His unclear mind always seemed to push him in irrational directions. Surviving four plane crashes, producing Box Office motion pictures, and battling Pan Am for their monopoly on transatlantic flights.

His life might not be one to envy, but it sure as hell was fascinating!

The Beginning

Howard inherited his father's oil drilling company before his 20th birthday. His father had suddenly collapsed when he was in a business meeting. As the oil market was booming in America, Howard’s father had decided to lease out high quality drilling bits. This appeared to be a very lucrative endeavor.

When Howard inherited the company, the cash cow was making him a fortune a day. However, the difference between Howard and his father was that Howard didn’t aspire to spend his days in the oil industry. Howard had much bigger dreams than that! In his early twenties he wrote down his life goals, which included:

- Become the most successful movie producer

- Become the fastest person on earth

The goals that Howard wanted to achieve didn’t appear to be first principle based. Instead, Howard seemed more obsessed with social status, and prestige. During his lifetime he treated many people around him like garbage. For example: his first wife. He had sent her to another state, and eventually ignored her every attempt of making contact. During this time, he frequently cheated on her with young actresses.

Howard seemed to lack the ability to be interested in, and respect other human beings. According to his mind, machines were much more interesting. Also, Howard seemed to suffer from an intense form of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). He wanted to control everything in his world, with him at the center of it.

A lot of his character traits seem to indicate some sort of childhood trauma, but we’ll probably never know..

Hell’s Angels

Howard was determined to make the best motion pictures, and conquer the movie industry. Hell’s Angels was the movie that made him an international celebrity. Hughes did spent a stunning 3.5 million dollars (about 54 million today) of his own money on this movie. It was grandiose, and a lot of critics weren’t so confident about its success.

During the shooting of Hell’s Angels, Howard decided to step aboard an airplane himself. Covered with multiple cameras, and surrounded by many stunt pilots, it wasn’t the safest thing to do. Many people around him told him not to do it! Howard, who later became known for firing employees for saying ''not'', decided to get into the air anyway. During the shoot, Howard quickly lost altitude, losing control over his plane. As he came close to the ground, he pulled up, but it was too late to prevent the plane from crashing. The plane was demolished, but Howard managed to survive the crash.

Proving the critics wrong, the movie became one of the highest grossing sound movies of its era. But unfortunately for Howard, the earnings didn’t surpass the high production costs.

Howard, at the highest peaks, burned through an average of 250 thousand dollars a week (about 3.5 million dollar today). Yes, his big dreams did cost an awful lot of money.

As he passed the age of 40, his mental health neglected him. His plane crashes made him an obsessive user of painkillers, and sedatives. Eventually this took his toll. For years he lived in a dark room of the Beverly Hills hotel. Never ever did he come outside. His fear for bacteria, and paranoia ruled his every move.

As he worked on a new plane for the US government, employees spotted him many times inspecting blueprints with his flashlight on odd hours. ‘’He could stare at the plane for hours in the middle of the night’’ – One employee said. Also, he felt that he couldn’t trust anyone. Especially for the young actresses it meant that they had to undergo an intensive background check. If Howard didn’t trust a distant link to some political party, they were fired. If you looked him peculiar in the eye, **you were fired!
**

His life might not be one to aspire, but we should celebrate him for his extravagant investments in aviation and cinema. He could’ve retired at the age of twenty, and spend his days drinking cocktails on some white beach. Instead, due to his greedy and selfish nature, he chased numerous boundary exceeding goals.

Not only did he push his own limits, he also pushed whole industries! These things don’t happen if you party all day, and leave your money in the bank..

Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

- Rob Siltanen

If you desire to learn more about Howard Hughes, the Founders podcast has a terrific episode about him, or you could watch Martin Scorsese’s work: The Aviator (starring DiCaprio).

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