Larry Hillblom
Encyclopedia
Larry Lee Hillblom was an American
businessman, and a co-founder of DHL
Worldwide Express, a shipping company.
. Larry Hillblom was a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley
's Boalt Hall School of Law and briefly clerked for San Francisco based attorney Melvin Belli
. In 1969, Hillblom co-founded DHL, which delivered shipping documents via air courier days before the ship arrived, so that the ships could be quickly unloaded. The company was later transformed into a general air courier, and Hillblom's wealth expanded to several billion dollars. In the 1980s, he moved to Saipan
, where he started several businesses and development projects in Hawaii
, Vietnam
and the Philippines
.
In Vietnam, he spent $40 million to restore the Dalat Palace Hotel as well as the Dalat Palace Golf Course, in an attempt to recreate colonial times. Other investments included the Novotel Dalat, Novotel Phan Thiet and Ocean Dunes Golf Course and, outside Ho Chi Minh City, Riverside Apartments. The investment was done via an overseas holding company to avoid an American embargo
against Vietnam. The Dalat Palace Hotel featured French restaurants and "Larry's Bar". The hotel opened in 1995 under Hillblom and his Vietnamese partners' ownership with management personnel provided by Accor.
He was an aircraft enthusiast, and flew several vintage aircraft. Hillblom's seaplane crashed on May 21, 1995, on a flight from Pagan Island
to Saipan. The bodies of the pilot and of a fellow passenger / business partner were found, but Hillblom's body was never recovered.
Hillblom's will stated that the University of California, San Francisco
(UCSF) would receive his estate, and did not specify any children in the 1982 will. There was no "disinheritance clause" in the will, which Hillblom thought was unnecessary since he did not recognize his illegitimate children. After his death, his estate was the subject of lawsuits from children fathered across the Pacific. According to Saipan law, illegitimate children born after a will has been drawn up are entitled to make a claim on the estate.
Girls from several Asian and Pacific countries made claims that he had committed statutory rape
on them and was the father of their illegitimate children. Most of the attorneys in Saipan became involved in the case, according to one Saipan attorney.
However, since Hillblom's body wasn't recovered in the crash, there was no DNA
that could be used to determine paternity. Mysteriously, his house in Saipan was discovered to have been wiped clean. The sinks had been scrubbed with muriatic acid, and toothbrushes, combs, hairbrushes and clothes were found buried in the backyard, making them useless for DNA testing.
Investigators discovered he had a facial mole
removed at UCSF Medical Center, and it was still there; UCSF agreed to relinquish the mole (although its release could, of course, deprive UCSF of the estate if it could be used to prove Hillblom had sired children). It later turned out that the mole was not from Hillblom.
Hillblom's mother, brother, and half-brother initially refused to submit their DNA (which could have also been used to determine paternity of the various children). Investigators then decided to use a different tactic: how did the DNA of the children compare with each other? Since the girls were located in different countries, if the children shared certain DNA markers, they'd almost certainly have the same father. In the end, a judge ordered Hillblom's brother and mother to submit to genetic testing. The tests confirmed that four of the eight claimants were Hillblom's children.
It was ultimately determined that a Vietnamese child, Lory Nguyen, 2 Filipino children, and a child from Palau
, Larry Hillblom Jr. were fathered by Hillblom. In the final settlement, each of the four children received $90 million (about $50 million after taxes and fees), while the remaining $240 million went to the Hillblom Foundation, which followed Hillblom's wishes and donated funds to University of California for medical research.
A film by Alexis Spraic documenting the legal hoopla that took place after Hillblom's death, titled Shadow Billionaire premiered at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman, and a co-founder of DHL
DHL
DHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post providing international express mail services. DHL is a world market leader in sea and air mail....
Worldwide Express, a shipping company.
Background
Larry Hillblom was born and raised in Kingsburg, CaliforniaKingsburg, California
Kingsburg is a city in Fresno County, California. Kingsburg is located southeast of Selma at an elevation of 302 feet , on the banks of the Kings River. The city is half an hour away from Fresno, and two hours away from the California Central Coast and Sierra Nevada Mountain Range...
. Larry Hillblom was a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
's Boalt Hall School of Law and briefly clerked for San Francisco based attorney Melvin Belli
Melvin Belli
Melvin Mouron Belli was a prominent American lawyer known as "The King of Torts" and by detractors as 'Melvin Bellicose'. He had many celebrity clients, including Zsa Zsa Gabor, Errol Flynn, Chuck Berry, Muhammad Ali, Sirhan Sirhan, the Rolling Stones, Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker, Martha...
. In 1969, Hillblom co-founded DHL, which delivered shipping documents via air courier days before the ship arrived, so that the ships could be quickly unloaded. The company was later transformed into a general air courier, and Hillblom's wealth expanded to several billion dollars. In the 1980s, he moved to Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, where he started several businesses and development projects in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
In Vietnam, he spent $40 million to restore the Dalat Palace Hotel as well as the Dalat Palace Golf Course, in an attempt to recreate colonial times. Other investments included the Novotel Dalat, Novotel Phan Thiet and Ocean Dunes Golf Course and, outside Ho Chi Minh City, Riverside Apartments. The investment was done via an overseas holding company to avoid an American embargo
Embargo
An embargo is the partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country, in order to isolate it. Embargoes are considered strong diplomatic measures imposed in an effort, by the imposing country, to elicit a given national-interest result from the country on which it is...
against Vietnam. The Dalat Palace Hotel featured French restaurants and "Larry's Bar". The hotel opened in 1995 under Hillblom and his Vietnamese partners' ownership with management personnel provided by Accor.
He was an aircraft enthusiast, and flew several vintage aircraft. Hillblom's seaplane crashed on May 21, 1995, on a flight from Pagan Island
Pagan Island
Pagan is an island of the Northern Mariana Islands chain,located at , approximately 320 kilometers northof Saipan.Pagan has an area of 47.23 km² , making it the fourth largest island of the Northern Marianas, and consists of two stratovolcanoes joined by a narrow strip of land.The...
to Saipan. The bodies of the pilot and of a fellow passenger / business partner were found, but Hillblom's body was never recovered.
Hillblom's will stated that the University of California, San Francisco
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...
(UCSF) would receive his estate, and did not specify any children in the 1982 will. There was no "disinheritance clause" in the will, which Hillblom thought was unnecessary since he did not recognize his illegitimate children. After his death, his estate was the subject of lawsuits from children fathered across the Pacific. According to Saipan law, illegitimate children born after a will has been drawn up are entitled to make a claim on the estate.
Girls from several Asian and Pacific countries made claims that he had committed statutory rape
Statutory rape
The phrase statutory rape is a term used in some legal jurisdictions to describe sexual activities where one participant is below the age required to legally consent to the behavior...
on them and was the father of their illegitimate children. Most of the attorneys in Saipan became involved in the case, according to one Saipan attorney.
However, since Hillblom's body wasn't recovered in the crash, there was no DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
that could be used to determine paternity. Mysteriously, his house in Saipan was discovered to have been wiped clean. The sinks had been scrubbed with muriatic acid, and toothbrushes, combs, hairbrushes and clothes were found buried in the backyard, making them useless for DNA testing.
Investigators discovered he had a facial mole
Mole (skin marking)
A melanocytic nevus is a type of lesion that contains nevus cells .Some sources equate the term mole with "melanocytic nevus". Other sources reserve the term "mole" for other purposes....
removed at UCSF Medical Center, and it was still there; UCSF agreed to relinquish the mole (although its release could, of course, deprive UCSF of the estate if it could be used to prove Hillblom had sired children). It later turned out that the mole was not from Hillblom.
Hillblom's mother, brother, and half-brother initially refused to submit their DNA (which could have also been used to determine paternity of the various children). Investigators then decided to use a different tactic: how did the DNA of the children compare with each other? Since the girls were located in different countries, if the children shared certain DNA markers, they'd almost certainly have the same father. In the end, a judge ordered Hillblom's brother and mother to submit to genetic testing. The tests confirmed that four of the eight claimants were Hillblom's children.
It was ultimately determined that a Vietnamese child, Lory Nguyen, 2 Filipino children, and a child from Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
, Larry Hillblom Jr. were fathered by Hillblom. In the final settlement, each of the four children received $90 million (about $50 million after taxes and fees), while the remaining $240 million went to the Hillblom Foundation, which followed Hillblom's wishes and donated funds to University of California for medical research.
A film by Alexis Spraic documenting the legal hoopla that took place after Hillblom's death, titled Shadow Billionaire premiered at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
.