The conglomerate also owns several business-information companies, including Fitch Ratings and First Databank. The company was founded by William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboyant methods of yellow journalism influenced the nation's popula…
Is the Hearst family still in business?
According to William Randolph Hearst Sr.'s will, the Hearst Corporation will remain under family control as long as any grandchild that was alive when Sr. died in 1951 is still living. The family business is controlled by a board of 13 trustees, five from the Hearst family and eight Hearst executives.
Where did the Hearst family come from?
If historical records are to then be believed, the family’s earliest ancestor, John Hearst, arrived in South Carolina and became farmers. The other major theory is that the Hearst family are actually an offshoot of a “Hurst” family from Virginia (originally from Plymouth Colony) that moved to South Carolina in the mid-1760’s.
What did Hearst own in the 1920s?
In 1919, Hearst's book publishing division was renamed Cosmopolitan Book. In the 1920s and 1930s, Hearst owned the biggest media conglomerate in the world, which included a number of magazines and newspapers in major cities. Hearst also began acquiring radio stations to complement his papers.
Who are the members of the Hearst family on the board?
The other members of the Hearst family on the board today are Anissa Boudjakdji Balson, granddaughter of fifth son, David Wilson Hearst Sr., Lisa Hearst Hagerman, granddaughter of third son, John Randolph Hearst Sr., George Randolph Hearst III, grandson of Hearst's eldest son,...
Who is the heir to the Hearst fortune?
William R. Hearst III, a grandson of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, is a board member of Hearst Corp. and an heir to the family fortune. Hearst Corp.
What does the Hearst family do now?
Hearst III now chairs Hearst Corp., which owns more than 360 businesses. Major interests include TV network ESPN, financial information provider Fitch Group and 300-plus magazines including Cosmopolitan and Elle.
How many brands does Hearst own?
Receive the news of the day from the perspective of Hearst's 360+ brands delivered straight to your inbox each day.
How much money does Hearst family have?
The entire Hearst family currently has 67 heirs, sharing a fortune of $21 billion (£15.4bn) as of 2020, which is down from $35 billion (£25.6bn) in 2014.
Who lives in Hearst Castle now?
It's now owned and operated by the California State Park system. Jim Allen, a former Hearst tour guide who's worked at the castle for 30 years, took CNN Travel on a special tour of the property, sharing some secrets of the sprawling complex that a billionaire once called home.
Who inherited Hearst Castle?
Historic locations associated with Hearst Castle. In 1919, his son, William Randolph Hearst, inherited the land from his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst. He eventually expanded it to encompass 250,000 acres.
Is HGTV owned by Hearst?
Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., HGTV is wholly owned by Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.
How many TV stations does Hearst own?
33 televisionWe are Hearst Television, a national multimedia company. We own and operate 33 television and two radio stations serving 26 media markets across 39 states reaching over 21 million U.S. television households.
How much is Hearst worth?
Hearst was born on April 29, 1863 in San Francisco, California. He was the son of US Senator, and multi-millionaire mining tycoon, George Hearst. His mother, Phoebe Apperson began dating George when she was 18 and he was 40....William Randolph Hearst Net Worth.Net Worth:$30 BillionNationality:United States of America4 more rows
Who owns the Hearst Ranch?
Stephen Thompson HearstThe ranch is managed by Stephen Thompson Hearst, the great-grandson of William Randolph Hearst. The ranch is permanently protected under a conservation agreement signed in 2005 by the Hearst Corporation, American Land Conservancy, California Rangeland Trust, and the State of California.
Who owned the Hearst mansion?
The 3.5-acre estate has been on and off the market since 2007, according to listing records. In 2016, it was asking $195 million. But in 2019, the owner of the property, attorney Leonard Ross, put it into Chapter 11 bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time.
Does the Hearst family still use the castle?
The following year, the Hearst family gave the castle and many of its contents to the State of California and the mansion was opened to the public on May 17, 1958. It has since operated as the Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument and attracts about 750,000 visitors annually.
What is the Hearst family?
Most well known for the vast media empire they built (and that still bears their name!) the Hearst family are arguably also the most powerful family in American politics! Although they never became a political dynasty with the same clout the Roosevelts, ...
Why did the Hearst family go by "Hearst"?
Arriving in South Carolina, the family began going by “Hearst” to distinguish themselves from their Virginian cousins. Here, the Hearst family similarly became farmers. Despite compelling evidence for both, most genealogists tend to agree that the Hearst family’s origins are those of the first theory.
Why did William Randolph Hearst control the San Francisco Examiner?
At the age of 24, in 1887 William Randolph Hearst was given control of the San Francisco Examiner, the local newspaper his father had acquired seven years earlier, in 1880, to settle a gambling debt owed to him. Being given control of the San Francisco Examiner proved to be the beginning of the Hearst family’s media empire, ...
How old was George Hearst when he married Phoebe Apperson?
Remaining unmarried for much of his business career, a 39 year-old George Hearst met and fell in love with his neighbor, 16 year-old Phoebe Apperson, in 1860. The couple married two years later, on June 15 1862.
What did Hearst do in the 1920s?
As the 1920 Presidential Election drew near, Hearst forbade his newspapers from endorsing either candidate, disliking both the Harding-Coolidge and Cox-Roosevelt tickets. This was also repeated in 1924 with the Coolidge-Dawes and Davis-Bryan tickets too.
Where did George Hearst live?
Regardless of their origins, the family eventually moved to the Missouri Territory sometime before 1820. On September 3rd that year, George Hearst was born to William G. Hearst and his wife, Elizabeth Hearst (née Collins). Likely the eldest of three children (records differ), George became interested in mining at a young age after reading mining ...
Who was the man of the house when William Hearst died?
When William G. Hearst died in 1846, George became the man of the house, running the general store previously owned by his father and doing mining in his downtime. Hearing of the discovery of gold in California in 1849, George soon relocated the family. Arriving in California in 1850, George spent his first few years in the state ...
What does Hearst own?
Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, television channels, and television stations, including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Houston Chronicle, Cosmopolitan and Esquire. It owns 50% of the A&E Networks cable network group and 20% of the sports cable network group ESPN, both in partnership with The Walt Disney Company.
How many trustees does the Hearst Foundation have?
Under William Randolph Hearst's will, a common board of thirteen trustees (its composition fixed at five family members and eight outsiders) administers the Hearst Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, and the trust that owns (and selects the 24-member board of) the Hearst Corporation (immediate parent of Hearst Communications which shares the same officers). The foundations shared ownership until tax law changed to prevent this.
What newspapers did Hearst publish?
The earnings of Hearst's three morning papers, the San Francisco Examiner, the Los Angeles Examiner, and The Milwaukee Sentinel, supported the company's money-losing afternoon publications such as the Los Angeles Herald-Express, the New York Journal-American, and the Chicago American.
When did Hearst merge with Cosmopolitan?
This eventually led to the merger of the magazine Hearst International with Cosmopolitan in 1925. Despite some financial troubles, Hearst began extending its reach in 1921, purchasing the Detroit Times, The Boston Record, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
When did Hearst buy the Atlanta Georgian?
Hearst bought the Atlanta Georgian in 1912, the San Francisco Call and the San Francisco Post in 1913, the Boston Advertiser and the Washington Times (unrelated to the present-day paper) in 1917, and the Chicago Herald in 1918 (resulting in the Herald-Examiner ).
Where is the Hearst Tower?
Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Who owns Litton Entertainment?
In January 2017, Hearst announced that it had acquired a majority stake in Litton Entertainment. Its CEO, Dave Morgan, was a former employee of Hearst. On January 23, 2017, Hearst announced that it had acquired the business operations of The Pioneer Group from fourth-generation family owners Jack and John Batdorff.
How many television stations does Hearst own?
Today, the Hearst Corporation division Hearst Television owns 32 television stations in the United States. When William Randolph Hearst Jr. took over the Hearst Corporation he was able to restore a measure of family control.
What hit the Hearst companies?
The Great Depression hit the Hearst companies hard – especially the newspapers. He had over extended the finances of his companies during expansion and the building of the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. Hearst Corporation faced a court-mandated reorganization in 1937.
Who is William Randolph Hearst?
William Randolph Hearst started the family fortune when he took control of the San Francisco Examiner from his father in 1887. William's grandson, William Randolph Hearst III, is chairman of the group these days. Its stable of media companies includes stakes in television networks A&E and ESPN.
Who is Lydia Hearst's mother?
Patty is the mother of model Lydia Hearst. Hearst soon opened newspapers in Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and other cities. By the mid-1920s, he had a nationwide string of 28 newspapers among them the Los Angeles Examiner, Boston American, Chicago Examiner, Washington Herald, and Seattle Post Intelligencer. He also diversified his publishing empire ...
Who owns the copyright to the New York Daily Mirror?
He diversified into radio and entertainment with WINS in New York and King Features Syndicate, which still owns the copyright on a number of comics characters.
Is the Hearst Corporation still under family control?
According to William Randolph Hearst Sr.'s will, the Hearst Corporation will remain under family control as long as any grandchild that was alive when Sr. died in 1951 is still living. The family business is controlled by a board of 13 trustees, five from the Hearst family and eight Hearst executives.
Overview
Former assets
• Light TV (joint venture with Mark Burnett, Roma Downey and MGM Television, sold to Allen Media Group and rebranded as TheGrio TV)
• Litton Entertainment (absorbed into Hearst Media Production Group)
• The American Weekly (1896-1966): Sunday newspaper supplement (November 1, 1896, until 1966)
Publishing
• Journal-Courier (Jacksonville, Illinois)
• The Advocate (Stamford, Connecticut)
• The New Haven Register (New Haven, Connecticut)
• Albany Times Union (Albany, New York)
Broadcasting
• Hearst Media Production Group
• WBAL-AM (Baltimore, MD)
• WIYY-FM (Baltimore, MD)
• WVTM-TV (Birmingham, AL)
• KHBS-TV/KHOG-TV (Fort Smith, AR)
Business media
• LocalEdge - formerly THE TALKING PHONE BOOK,
• Blackbook
• IC Master
• Electronic Engineers Master Catalog
Interactive media
Investments include:
• XM Satellite Radio
• MetaTV
• Circles
• Mobility Technologies
Other
• King Features Syndicate
• Reed Brennan
• CDS Global
• Hearst Holdings, Inc.
• Wyntoon
See also
• Lists of corporate assets
Overview
Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, television channels, and television stations, including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Houston Chronicle, Cosmop…
History
In 1880, George Hearst, mining entrepreneur and U.S. senator, bought the San Francisco Daily Examiner. In 1887, he turned the Examiner over to his son, William Randolph Hearst, who that year founded the Hearst Corporation. The younger Hearst eventually built readership for Hearst-owned newspapers and magazines from 15,000 to over 20 million. Hearst began to purchase and laun…
Chief executive officers
• In 1880, George Hearst entered the newspaper business, acquiring the San Francisco Daily Examiner.
• On March 4, 1887, he turned the Examiner over to his son, 23-year-old William Randolph Hearst, who was named editor and publisher. William Hearst died in 1951, at age 88.
• In 1951, Richard E. Berlin, who had served as president of the company since 1943, succeeded William Hearst as chief executive officer. Berlin retired in 1973. William Randolp…
• In 1880, George Hearst entered the newspaper business, acquiring the San Francisco Daily Examiner.
• On March 4, 1887, he turned the Examiner over to his son, 23-year-old William Randolph Hearst, who was named editor and publisher. William Hearst died in 1951, at age 88.
• In 1951, Richard E. Berlin, who had served as president of the company since 1943, succeeded William Hearst as chief executive officer. Berlin retired in 1973. William Randolph Hearst Jr. claimed in 19…
Assets
A non-exhaustive list of its current properties and investments includes:
• Bicycling
• Billboard (magazine)
• Car and Driver
• Cosmopolitan
Trustees of William Randolph Hearst's will
Under William Randolph Hearst's will, a common board of thirteen trustees (its composition fixed at five family members and eight outsiders) administers the Hearst Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, and the trust that owns (and selects the 26-member board of) the Hearst Corporation (immediate parent of Hearst Communications which shares the same officers). The foundations shared ownership until tax law changed to prevent this.
See also
• 224 West 57th Street, former building occupied by Hearst
• Newsboys' strike of 1899
Further reading
• Carlisle, Rodney. "The Foreign Policy Views of an Isolationist Press Lord: WR Hearst and the International Crisis, 1936-41." Journal of Contemporary History 9.3 (1974): 217–227.
• Nasaw, David. The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst. (2000). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-82759-0., a prominent scholarly biography.
External links
• Official website
• The Hearst Foundation, Inc.