Howard Hughes is one of those American figures that will always live on in folklore. He was known to be everything from a little eccentric to full-blown crazy. People who got to know the rarely seen off-again-on-again billionaire described him as a tortured genius with no sense for the value of money.

However, Hughes managed to create a gigantic fortune in his time and he single handedly lifted the aviation industry to a higher stratosphere. Hughes was also a film producer/director, a sporadic socialite during his early years, and a renowned philanthropist. In 1958 at the height of his fortune, Hughes was worth around $13-billion - which is around $43-billion today.

Howard Robard Hughes was born December 24, 1905 in Houston, Texas. He was the only son of Alene and Howard - who was a millionaire inventor specializing in machinery for the oil industry. Hughes' parents both died two years apart and he was an orphan at 18. He was left an estate worth $871k and a patent for a drill bit. Hughes seized control of his father's company and used the revenue to finance his movie business. He produced such classics as Scarface, The Outlaw, and Hell's Angels.

Howard began his flying in 1928 after obtaining a pilot's license. He founded the Hughes Aircraft Company in California in 1932, and began to design, build and fly record-breaking airplanes. He won many awards for his aviation, including the Harmon Trophy, Collier Trophy, and the Octave Chanute Award during the late 1930s and early 40s. During that time, Hughes had been contracted by the government to work on an experimental aircraft for the military to be used in World War II.

While flying his aircraft in 1944, Hughes was critically injured in a crash. His aircraft company later became a major defense contractor after World War II, but the massive amounts of money the government paid him to complete projects wasn't being accounted for. In 1953, it became evident that Hughes was avoiding taxes by funneling the money through the Hughes Medical Institute, a dummy-corp. in place to avoid taxes. Hughes hoped to avoid the IRS by donating money to the Nixon campaign and loaning over $200k to President Nixon's brother.

Howard's tax evasion years were also his life evasion years. Starting in 1950, Hughes became a recluse, refusing to meet with anyone or even step outside. Even still, he managed to marry Jean Peters - an actress - in 1957 on one of his extremely rare trips. Hughes would even refuse to appear in court when ordered or so much as give a statement. Trans World Airlines, the company he founded some years earlier, was in danger of being taken away by the government. Hughes promptly sold his holdings in 1966 for $566-million.

Hughes' life in seclusion took a drastic turn after this. From 1966 until his death, Hughes moved from place to place, rarely allowing himself to be seen by anyone. In April of 1976, Hughes was being rushed by airplane from Mexico to Houston for medical attention. He died during the flight. Even in his death, controversy followed, as forgeries of his will began to pop up in spots all over the world.