The $765K Fake Biography That Fooled Everyone Until Hughes Called

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]In 1971, a struggling writer convinced a major publisher to pay him $765,000 for a book that didn't exist. Clifford Irving claimed he had exclusive access to Howard Hughes, the reclusive billionaire who hadn't been seen in public for 15 years. McGraw-Hill Publishers was desperate for the scoop of the century. Irving spent months studying Hughes. He practiced forging the billionaire's handwriting for hours.

[00:00:24]He created fake letters proving their meetings. His wife Edith flew to Switzerland. She opened a secret bank account under the name Helga Hughes. She deposited the massive advance checks.

[00:00:34]For months, Irving fed the publishers fake stories about his secret interviews with Hughes. The book was about to hit shelves when Hughes himself called a telephone press conference. His first public statement in years was simple. He had never met Clifford Irving. The con was over. Irving confessed to the elaborate fraud. He got two and a half years in prison. The man who almost pulled off the greatest literary hoax in history was undone by the one person he couldn't control, Howard Hughes.

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