Summa Corporation
Summa Corporation was Howard Hughes's post-1972 holding company, combining aviation, broadcasting, hotels, casinos, mining, film rights, and Las Vegas land development.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Summa Corporation was a diversified American holding company created in 1972 when the Hughes Tool Company separated and sold its original oil-drilling-tool business to public investors. The remaining parent company retained Howard Hughes's broad portfolio of investments, which by then extended well beyond industrial manufacturing into aviation, regional air transport, television, sports broadcasting, hotels, casinos, mining, motion-picture rights, and substantial real-estate holdings. The company originated with Hughes Tool Company, established in 1908 as an oil-well drilling equipment manufacturer. Under Howard Hughes's ownership, the business became the corporate center for a wide range of investments. The 1972 transaction effectively separated the historical tool operation from Hughes's other assets: the newly established Hughes Tool Company became the publicly offered tool business, while the former parent was renamed Summa Corporation. The name was reportedly selected by Hughes employees from the Latin word for “highest.” Hughes is said to have preferred a name built around his initials and resort interests, but Summa remained the corporate identity. Summa's holdings illustrated Hughes's highly personal and unconventional investment strategy. Its properties included KLAS-TV, the Las Vegas CBS affiliate; Hughes Airwest, a regional airline; Hughes Sports Network; Hughes Helicopters; several major Las Vegas hotel and casino properties; Nevada mining interests; General American Oil Company; and rights to films such as Scarface and The Conqueror. The hotel portfolio included the Sands, Frontier, Landmark, Castaways, Desert Inn, Silver Slipper, and Xanadu Beach Resort & Marina. Hughes Helicopters remained with Summa when most of Hughes Aircraft Company's aviation business was transferred to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as part of that institution's endowment. Hughes died in 1976 without a valid will, creating a complex estate-administration process. His cousin William Lummis became a leading administrator, and the company subsequently pursued a broad liquidation of operating assets. Hughes Nevada Mining was sold by the end of 1976. KLAS-TV and Hughes Sports Network were sold in 1978. Hughes Airwest was sold to Republic Airlines in 1980, and Hughes Helicopters was sold to McDonnell Douglas in 1984. The hotel and casino properties were also progressively sold during the 1980s. As the operating businesses disappeared, Summa evolved from a diversified investment holding company into a real-estate development vehicle. Its most important remaining asset was a large amount of undeveloped land in and around Las Vegas acquired during Hughes's lifetime. This land later provided the foundation for Summerlin, a large master-planned community in the Las Vegas Valley. In September 1994, Summa Corporation was renamed The Howard Hughes Corporation, restoring Hughes's name to the company and aligning the corporate identity with the legacy of its principal owner. In 1996, Hughes's heirs sold the renamed company to The Rouse Company for $520 million, together with an arrangement giving the heirs half of future profits from undeveloped land holdings. The Rouse Company was later acquired by General Growth Properties, and a successor Howard Hughes Corporation was spun off in 2010. Accordingly, Summa Corporation no longer exists as an independent operating brand, but its land-development legacy continued through successor companies.
History
Summa Corporation's roots lay in Hughes Tool Company, founded in 1908 as an oil-drilling-tool manufacturer. The company became associated with Howard Hughes and gradually expanded beyond its original industrial purpose. Hughes used the corporate structure to hold or control interests in aviation, broadcasting, entertainment, hospitality, gaming, mining, oil, and real estate. A major structural change occurred in 1972. Hughes Tool Company's tool division was sold to investors through an initial public offering, creating a new Hughes Tool Company focused on the historical drilling-equipment business. The remaining parent company changed its name to Summa Corporation. The new name was reportedly derived from the Latin word for “highest,” although Hughes allegedly favored a name reflecting his own initials and resort operations. At its height, Summa held a notably varied collection of assets. These included KLAS-TV, the Las Vegas CBS affiliate; Hughes Airwest; Hughes Sports Network; Hughes Helicopters; General American Oil Company; Hughes Nevada Mining; film rights; and numerous hotel and casino properties. The listed hospitality assets included the Sands, Frontier, Landmark, Castaways, Desert Inn, Silver Slipper, and Xanadu Beach Resort & Marina. The company also retained Hughes Helicopters after most of the broader Hughes aircraft business was donated to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as its endowment. Howard Hughes died in 1976 without leaving a valid will. His cousin William Lummis became a leading administrator of the estate, and Summa began reducing the portfolio. Nevada mining interests were sold by the end of 1976. KLAS-TV and Hughes Sports Network were sold in 1978. Hughes Airwest was sold to Republic Airlines in October 1980, while Hughes Helicopters was sold to McDonnell Douglas in January 1984. The hotel and casino properties were gradually disposed of during the 1980s. The liquidation changed Summa's strategic identity. Rather than remaining a diversified operator, it increasingly functioned as a landholding and development company. Much of the remaining value came from extensive undeveloped property around Las Vegas that Hughes had accumulated. Summa used those holdings as the basis for a master-planned-community strategy, most notably the development of Summerlin. In September 1994, Summa Corporation was renamed The Howard Hughes Corporation. The change honored Hughes and fulfilled, in part, his reported wish that his name remain attached to the enterprise. In February 1996, Hughes's heirs sold the company to The Rouse Company for $520 million, along with a right to half of future profits from undeveloped land holdings. The Rouse Company was acquired by General Growth Properties in 2004. A successor Howard Hughes Corporation was later spun off from General Growth Properties in 2010, continuing the master-planned-community and real-estate legacy associated with Summa's final phase.
- 2010
Successor Howard Hughes Corporation spun off
[1]A new Howard Hughes Corporation was spun off from General Growth Properties and continued the master-planned-community legacy.
- 2004
Rouse acquired by General Growth Properties
[1]The Rouse Company became part of General Growth Properties, which later provided the corporate setting for a successor Howard Hughes Corporation.
- 1996
Sold to The Rouse Company
[1]The Hughes heirs sold the renamed company to The Rouse Company, ending Summa's independent corporate identity.
- 1994
Corporate name changed to The Howard Hughes Corporation
[1]Summa adopted a name directly associated with its principal owner and its real-estate development direction.
- 1984
Hughes Helicopters sold
[1]The helicopter business was sold to McDonnell Douglas.
- 1980
Hughes Airwest sold
[1]The regional airline was sold to Republic Airlines.
- 1978
Broadcasting assets sold
[1]KLAS-TV and Hughes Sports Network were sold as Summa reduced its operating portfolio.
- 1976
Estate administration begins after Hughes's death
[1]Howard Hughes died without a valid will, and estate administrators led by William Lummis began overseeing the company and its assets.
- 1972
Parent company renamed Summa Corporation
[1]The tool division was separated and sold to investors through a public offering, while the remaining Hughes holding company adopted the Summa name.
- 1908
Hughes Tool Company established
[1]The predecessor company was established as a manufacturer of oil-well drilling tools.
Products and positioning
A private, owner-controlled holding company used to manage and later liquidate Howard Hughes's diversified commercial interests, ultimately transitioning into a Las Vegas-focused real-estate development enterprise.
Regional airline
Hughes Airwest
Hughes Airwest was Summa's regional airline business. It formed part of the aviation portfolio inherited from Howard Hughes's wider commercial interests and was later sold to Republic Airlines in 1980.
Helicopter manufacturing
Hughes Helicopters
Hughes Helicopters was the helicopter business retained by Summa after most of the aircraft business was transferred to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Summa sold the division to McDonnell Douglas in 1984.
Hospitality and gaming
Las Vegas hotel and casino portfolio
Summa held a portfolio of Las Vegas hospitality and gaming properties, including the Sands, Frontier, Landmark, Castaways, Desert Inn, and Silver Slipper, as well as Xanadu Beach Resort & Marina. These properties were progressively sold during the 1980s.
Television broadcasting
KLAS-TV
KLAS-TV was the Las Vegas CBS affiliate held by Summa. Its acquisition was associated with Hughes's personal interest in the station's programming. The station was sold in 1978.
Master-planned real estate
Summerlin development assets
After Summa sold most of its operating businesses, undeveloped land around Las Vegas became its central strategic asset. The company shifted toward master-planned real-estate development, laying the groundwork for Summerlin and related successor-company activities.
Brand decisions
1996
Sell the company to The Rouse CompanyM&ABackground
Hughes's heirs sought to monetize the remaining company and its undeveloped land portfolio.
Action taken
The heirs sold The Howard Hughes Corporation to The Rouse Company for $520 million plus half of future profits from undeveloped land holdings.
Aftermath
Summa's corporate lineage entered The Rouse Company and later General Growth Properties before a successor Howard Hughes Corporation was spun off in 2010.
Acquisition price. $520 million (1996 transaction)
1994
Rebrand as The Howard Hughes CorporationStrategyBackground
After the operating portfolio had been substantially reduced, the company was increasingly identified with real-estate development and Hughes's Las Vegas landholdings.
Action taken
Summa Corporation changed its name to The Howard Hughes Corporation.
Aftermath
The Summa name ceased to be the company's operating identity, while the Howard Hughes name continued through later corporate successors.
1976
Begin broad asset liquidation after Hughes's deathStrategyBackground
Howard Hughes died without a valid will, leaving administrators responsible for managing a complex and diverse corporate estate.
Action taken
Under administration led by William Lummis, Summa sold mining, broadcasting, aviation, helicopter, hotel, and casino assets over subsequent years.
Aftermath
The company moved away from diversified operating businesses and toward ownership and development of Las Vegas land.
1972
Separate the drilling-tools business from the Hughes investment portfolioStrategyBackground
The historical Hughes Tool Company manufacturing operation was separated from Howard Hughes's other businesses and offered to investors.
Action taken
The tool business continued under a new Hughes Tool Company, while the remaining parent adopted the Summa Corporation name.
Aftermath
Summa became the holding company for Hughes's aviation, media, hospitality, gaming, mining, film, and real-estate interests.
Recent events
- 1996
Howard Hughes Corporation sold to The Rouse Company[1]
M&A
Hughes's heirs sold the renamed company to The Rouse Company for $520 million, plus a share of future profits from undeveloped land holdings.
- 1994
Summa Corporation renamed The Howard Hughes Corporation[1]
Other
The company adopted The Howard Hughes Corporation name, emphasizing its association with Hughes and its real-estate development focus.
- 1984
Hughes Helicopters sold to McDonnell Douglas[1]
M&A
Summa sold Hughes Helicopters to McDonnell Douglas as part of the broader disposal of its inherited operating businesses.
- 1980
Hughes Airwest sold to Republic Airlines[1]
M&A
Summa sold its regional airline, Hughes Airwest, to Republic Airlines.
- 1976
Howard Hughes dies without a valid will[1]
Leadership change · Other
Hughes's death triggered estate administration and a subsequent program to sell many of Summa's operating businesses and investments.
- 1972
Summa Corporation created after Hughes Tool Company tool-business separation[1]
Other
The former Hughes Tool Company parent was renamed Summa Corporation after the oil-drilling-tool division was sold to investors through a public offering.
Sources1 sources
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