Howard Hughes

Howard Robard Hughes Jr. was a man of many hats: industrialist, film producer, aviation pioneer, and eventually, a full-blown eccentric who lived in darkened rooms surrounded by tissues. His early life was marked by privilege and mechanical aptitude, inheriting a fortune from his father's Hughes Tool Company. He wasn't just playing with erector sets; he built an empire, albeit one that eventually devolved into germaphobic paranoia and long fingernails.

While Hughes dabbled in Hollywood, producing films like "Hell's Angels" and "The Outlaw" (much to the Hays Code's chagrin), and revolutionized aviation with his Spruce Goose, his later years were less about innovation and more about isolation. He famously holed up in hotel penthouses, surrounded by Mormon aides, subsisting on candy bars and milk. Not exactly the traditional path to kvell-worthiness, unless you're kvelling over extreme wealth and an even more extreme lack of social skills.

His lineage traces back to staunchly American Protestant roots, specifically Welsh and English ancestry. There's no hint of a Shabbat dinner in his family tree, nor any indication he ever considered swapping his germ-free diet for gefilte fish. In fact, his well-documented idiosyncrasies probably precluded him from any organized religion, let alone one that involves shared meals and community.

So, while he certainly made a name for himself – one synonymous with both genius and madness – Howard Hughes remained firmly outside the tribe. His contributions to aviation and film are undeniable, but his personal life was a masterclass in reclusiveness, not righteousness. He was a visionary, a recluse, a billionaire, but definitely not a Jew.