The Hiltons pursued Hollywood glamour rather than Old Money status.

Evidence

Enter Paris Hilton, the aughts’ quintessential celebrity. Hilton wasn’t just famous for being famous; she was famous for openly wanting to be famous for being famous. She was first understood as an aristocratic heiress, but this label wasn’t quite accurate. Her great-grandfather Conrad Hilton made his fortune as a hotel magnate, yet he never elevated his clan into the pantheon of Old Money. Instead, the Hiltons gravitated toward Hollywood glamour, with Conrad taking actress Zsa Zsa Gabor as his second wife. Paris’s grandfather, Barron, sued to reclaim a share of the family estate to expand the hotel business and found the Los Angeles Chargers. By the time Paris was born, her father, Richard, had made his own fortune in luxury real estate, and her mother, Kathy, had transitioned from childhood acting and modeling into Beverly Hills society life. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 141