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August 30, 2006
The Paris Hilton empire
"I don't think there's ever been anyone like me that's lasted. And I'm going to keep on lasting." -- Paris Hilton
As Paris Hilton sees it, her main problem is that people don't understand how hard she works. "People are going to judge me: 'Paris Hilton, she uses money to get what she wants.' Whatever," she said. "I haven't accepted money from my parents since I was 18. I've worked my [butt] off. I have things no heiress has. I've done it all on my own, like a hustler."
It was a recent sweltering morning, and the socialite, 25, was speaking at her three-story compound up a winding hill in West Hollywood, within valet parking range of some of the area's hottest nightlife. Fresh from a hair and makeup session that a publicist said cost $10,000, she had descended her marble staircase, passed under the gaze of several poster-sized vanity portraits of herself, breezed by the chrome stripper pole she uses as an exercise prop ("It's great for parties," she said) and settled herself into a white sofa beneath a black Baccarat chandelier.
The professional celebutante and heir to the Hilton hotel fortune released her debut album, "Paris," on Warner Bros. Records earlier this month. Next, Hilton will disseminate what she calls "the brand of Paris Hilton" even more widely, and more lucratively. She has signed off on signature lines of lingerie, shoes, bathing suits, makeup, wigs, purses, an energy drink, a video game and champagne in a can -- all meant to land at the average Middle American mall. She also intends to open several restaurants and has begun developing properties for what she calls a "boutique hotel chain," to be called Paris, that will remain unaffiliated with her parents' worldwide franchise. READ FULL STORY
-By CHRIS LEE
LOS ANGELES TIMES