Hilton Hilton co-founders and co-CEOs Barron N. Hilton and Tessa Hilton have abruptly headed for the exit as they set up shop under the Compass banner in Beverly Hills and Palm Beach.
News of the husband-and-wife team’s new move came today, fresh off Monday’s announcement that Compass is in a deal to purchase Anywhere Real Estate for $1.6 billion. The deal is expected to close in the second half of next year.
“We are making a strategic move to Compass to position not only ourselves, but most importantly, our clients for long-term success in an increasingly competitive market,” Barron and Tessa Hilton said in a joint statement provided to The Real Deal.
Barron and Tessa Hilton were co-founders and co-CEOs of Hilton Hilton, which listed 12 licensed brokers and salespeople in California as of early Thursday, according to Department of Real Estate records. That’s in addition to an unknown number of office staff. It’s unclear at this point how many of its agents or support staff will make the move with them.
The couple cited Compass’ scale, technology and marketing as they thanked their agents, employees and clients.
“As part of this next chapter, we invite our agents to join us at Compass, where they will have access to the tools and platform needed to thrive,” the Hiltons said.
The couple said they plan to build a multi-market team, beginning with a base in Compass’ Beverly Hills office and what they described in the brokerage’s announcement as a “strategic presence” in Palm Beach. The couple previously had offices under their own banner in both markets.
The Hiltons, who declined to comment beyond their statement, bring their listing at 1305 Collingwood Place in the Hollywood Hills to Compass. The six-bed, eight-bath home is asking just under $29 million.
New start
The move brings a history-laden family name to Compass, stretching from legendary hotel magnate Conrad Hilton to pioneering influencer Paris Hilton.
Barron and Tessa Hilton launched the brokerage with Barron Hilton’s father, Rick Hilton, in March 2023.
Rick Hilton serves as brokerage chair and confirmed he will continue to work in real estate under the Hilton Hilton name.
“I will remain an active independent broker, continuing to serve my long-term clients, a portfolio of some of the world’s most influential individuals and families,” Rick Hilton said in a statement to TRD. “Hilton Hilton was a shared collaborative effort, and I’m incredibly proud of what we built together.
Rick Hilton and the late Jeff Hyland started the boutique brokerage Hilton & Hyland in 1993, inspiring a whole generation of industry talent that have gone on to now dominate the market’s record closings and overall high-end residential business. That includes Carolwood Estates founders Drew Fenton and Ed Leyson and the Beverly Hills Estates’ Rayni and Branden Williams.
Hilton Hilton became tangled up in litigation not long after its start, when Rick Hilton’s former firm alleged in a January 2024 lawsuit it was owed back rent from subleased space on the ground floor of Hilton & Hyland’s offices at 270 North Canon Drive.
Since the litigation, Hilton Hilton has largely remained out of the spotlight up until the June sale of a residence once owned by Mark Wahlberg in the gated Beverly Park Community to Paris Hilton. Tessa and Barron Hilton represented his sister, Paris, and her husband Carter Reum in the $63.1 million deal for 71 Beverly Park.
The following month, Barron Hilton and Tessa Hilton represented Scale AI co-founder Lucy Guo in her $29.5 million purchase of 1680 North Doheny Drive.
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