Claim: Howard Hughes gained prominence in Hollywood.

Howard Robard Hughes Jr. -LRB- December 24 , 1905 -- April 5 , 1976 -RRB- was an American businessman , investor , pilot , film director , and philanthropist , known during his lifetime as one of the most financially successful individuals in the world . He first made a name for himself as a film producer , and then became an influential figure in the aviation industry . Later in life , he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle -- oddities that were caused in part by a worsening obsessive -- compulsive disorder -LRB- OCD -RRB- and chronic pain from a plane crash .   As a maverick film tycoon , Hughes gained prominence in Hollywood beginning in the late 1920s , when he produced big-budget and often controversial films like The Racket -LRB- 1928 -RRB- , Hell 's Angels -LRB- 1930 -RRB- , and Scarface -LRB- 1932 -RRB- . Later he controlled the RKO film studio .   Hughes formed the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1932 , hiring numerous engineers and designers . He spent the rest of the 1930s setting multiple world air speed records and building the Hughes H-1 Racer and H-4 Hercules -LRB- the `` Spruce Goose '' -RRB- . He acquired and expanded Trans World Airlines and later acquired Air West , renaming it Hughes Airwest . Hughes was included in Flying Magazine 's list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation , ranked at 25 . Today , his legacy is maintained through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute .