The Hiltons Come Home With Launch of New Brokerage (Exclusive)
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It’s a Friday afternoon in Beverly Hills and Barron and Tessa Hilton are deep in baby mode. Dressed casually in sweatshirts and baseball caps, with extra-large Stanley cups tucked under their arms, the two are just weeks away from welcoming the couple’s third child. But the family addition isn’t the only new arrival on their mind. While most Angelenos have checked out for the weekend, the couple is holed up in a luxe Beverly Hills office building (complete with a Goop Kitchen and private dry cleaner, natch) taking meetings and putting the finishing touches on their other new baby: Hilton Hilton.
A luxury brokerage led by Barron, Tessa and patriarch Rick Hilton, Hilton Hilton launches this month with the goal of bridging the gap between old and young buyers, while injecting a sense of culture and community to the traditionally cold and transactional industry. Calling themselves an “unconventional global luxury real estate brokerage,” the company will offer a lifestyle-focused approach to the real estate experience. The mission: “to provide a curated experience for both our agents and our clients; intimate, yet far-reaching,” says Barron, who is co-CEO with Tessa. “We want to open doors to properties, connections, and innovation you won’t find anywhere else.”
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The new firm launches with a small group of agents, including Justin Alexander, who previously worked at Christie’s International, coming on board as Hilton Hilton’s vice-president, and Rosemary Ohm as managing director. True to their mission of bringing more design-focused elements to real estate, the firm has tapped Rob Janoff, the man credited with devising the Apple logo, as creative director.
After starting Hilton & Hyland more than three decades ago, the new brokerage also represents a fresh start for Rick, who was looking for his next big project after leaving Hilton & Hyland, the luxury brokerage he co-founded with the late Jeff Hyland in 1993.
Rick officially left Hilton & Hyland in December 2022, amidst news that Lori Hyland, Jeff Hyland’s widow, was buying out Rick’s stake in the firm. Though there was buzz of bad blood between them, Rick insists it was a mutual decision, adding that he had long sought out an opportunity to venture out on his own. “After my departure from Hilton & Hyland, it was just a natural progression [to start a new firm],” Rick tells THR. He’s also quick to downplay rumors of lingering animosity, stating that, “We have never felt the need to integrate negative business tactics. My father always said, ‘It takes 10 years to build your reputation and only one day to ruin it.'”
Barron is more forthright: “In early 2022, my father’s business partner, Jeff Hyland, passed away after a private battle with cancer,” he says in a statement. “While his health was slipping, some agents were trying to broker deals for themselves to assume ownership of the company at no cost. There was blood in the water and the sharks came out. The environment was toxic and so my father ultimately made the decision to sell his share to his late business partner’s widow Lori Hyland. Soon after, Hilton Hilton was born.” (note: Hilton and Hilton are currently defending themselves in a lawsuit from Hilton & Hyland over unpaid rent; a case management conference is scheduled on March 21).
For Barron, Hilton Hilton is a chance to prove himself in a new field. Following college, the third of Rick and Kathy Hilton’s children eschewed the fashion and entertainment ambitions of older siblings Paris and Nicky in favor of the finance world, moving to New York to work in private wealth management. But the onset of the pandemic and the reality of quarantine in a Manhattan condo left him homesick and wanting to be closer to family. In September 2020, Barron made the move back home to Beverly Hills. He hadn’t planned to stay in Los Angeles for long, but Barron quickly found a comfort and rhythm in L.A. living, with a network of old friends and more space for him and Tessa to raise daughter Milou and son Caspian (now 4 and 1, respectively). Barron found a job too, working for his father at Hilton & Hyland prior to launching Hilton Hilton.
Barron is aware that his family name has helped him make it in the industry and he’s aware of the skepticism that comes with his transition into real estate with his father. But the 34-year-old says this is the right time for him to move into the business, and he’s confident that he can bring a new perspective to the table.
“It’s been an invaluable experience to really learn and glean all the knowledge that my father has shared and showed me over the years,” Barron tells THR. “He has a remarkable talent as a business leader and over the 30-plus years of his career, he has overseen the sales of more than $50 billion – truly a number that I don’t think any individual can compare to.”
Still, the best advice his father has ever given him: “timing is everything.”
Both Barron and Tessa say the time is now, and they’re excited to introduce Hilton Hilton to the world. Tessa describes the company as a “boutique firm centered around family, relations and reputations.” There’s no “one size fits all” approach in real estate, she explains, and many of the existing brokerages were still hanging on to traditional ways of buying and selling. Where Hilton Hilton will stand out, she says, is by striving to “modernize the real estate industry,” though “culture, collaboration and innovation.”
Chief among their offerings will be “Hilton Hilton Elevate,” an events arm of the business that reimagines the open house. “It is our one-of-a-kind experiential marketing arm,” Barron explains more succinctly. “Luxury real estate demands more than a simple property tour,” he says, “and our events will range from private art exhibitions to full-on Gatsby-esque parties, all designed to create lasting impressions and connections that set our properties apart.”
Indeed, previous parties put on at their properties have featured everything from Paris Jackson performing an intimate musical showcase, to a Casa Del Sol tequila tasting (the Hiltons are investors in the brand), to an art and photography exhibit from Count Franz von Walderdorff, Tessa’s father.
Tessa describes the firm like “an intimate country club of the most connected clientele,” where agents and clients alike will gain exclusive access to not only a circle of buyers and sellers, but also “insider events that blend the art of networking with arts and entertainment.” As Tessa explains, “Our built-in connections and collaborations are among the best of the best, all here to help move properties in a way no other agency can.”
If the name didn’t make it obvious, Hilton Hilton is ultimately a family business, and it’s for exactly this reason that the Hiltons think the brokerage will thrive.
“A huge part of this business, which any agent can tell you, is that it’s all relation-based,” Barron says. “Our family has had amazing opportunities to connect and create strong relationships with some of the most influential people and brands in the world, and it’s our desire to work with them to elevate the properties our agents represent, and truly shake up the world of real estate.”
“We created the true gold standard of luxury real estate brokering decades ago and I am excited to continue this legacy alongside my son and daughter-in-law into the next generation with Hilton Hilton,” adds Rick, who is the chairman of the brokerage.
Though they’ve just opened in Los Angeles, the Hiltons are already planning their expansion. Up next: a satellite office in Palm Beach, set to open this fall, followed by plans to open in Miami, New York and the Hamptons.
And then there’s the other impending arrival for Barron and Tessa: a baby boy. Tessa has plans to work right up to her due date, and envisions taking calls and supporting the team from home in the weeks following the baby’s birth.
“People often ask me, ‘How do you do it?’ But for us, we couldn’t imagine it any other way,” Tessa says, of working with her husband and his family. “We’re partners in every aspect of life: at home, along this incredible journey of parenthood, and in the workforce, building something which I believe will be truly exceptional.”
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