Editing Howard Hughes (section)

==Howard Hughes Medical Institute==
{{Main|Howard Hughes Medical Institute}}

In 1953, Hughes launched the [[Howard Hughes Medical Institute]] in Miami (currently located in [[Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland|Chevy Chase, Maryland]] near [[Washington, D.C.]]), with the express goal of basic [[biomedical research]], including trying to understand, in Hughes' words, the "genesis of life itself,"{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} due to his lifelong interest in science and technology. Hughes' first [[Will and testament|will]], which he signed in 1925 at the age of 19, stipulated that a portion of his estate should be used to create a medical institute bearing his name.<ref>Brown and Broeske 1996, p. 34.</ref> When a major battle with the IRS loomed ahead, Hughes gave all his stock in the Hughes Aircraft Company to the institute, thereby turning the aerospace and defense contractor into a for-profit entity of a fully tax-exempt charity. Hughes' internist, [[Verne Mason]], who treated Hughes after his 1946 aircraft crash, was chairman of the institute's medical advisory committee.<ref>"Dr. Verne Mason. Miami Physician. Howard Hughes aide dies. Also treated Pershing." ''The New York Times,'' November 17, 1965.</ref> The Howard Hughes Medical Institute's new board of trustees sold Hughes Aircraft in 1985 to General Motors for $5.2 billion, allowing the institute to grow dramatically.

In 1954, Hughes transferred Hughes Aircraft to the foundation, which paid Hughes Tool Co. $18,000,000 for the assets. The foundation leased the land from Hughes Tool Co., which then subleased it to Hughes Aircraft Corp. The difference in rent, $2,000,000 per year, became the foundation's working capital.<ref name=Noah/>{{rp|268}}

The deal was the topic of a protracted legal battle between Hughes and the [[Internal Revenue Service]], which Hughes ultimately won. After his death in 1976, many thought that the balance of Hughes' estate would go to the institute, although it was ultimately divided among his cousins and other heirs, given the lack of a will to the contrary. The HHMI was the fourth largest private organization {{as of|2007|lc=y}} and one of the largest devoted to biological and medical research, with an [[Financial endowment|endowment]] of $20.4 billion {{as of|2018|June|lc=y|df=}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Financials |publisher=Howard Hughes Medical Institute |access-date=October 7, 2019 |url=https://www.hhmi.org/about/financials}}</ref>