Hearst and his mistress Marion lived in Hearst Castle, a palatial 250,000-acre hilltop estate overlooking San Simeon, California. Hearst commissioned architect Julia Morgan "to build a little something" on land he had inherited, and construction started in 1919, with William spending nearly $10 million, the equivalent of $180 million (£134m) today. Designed in the Mediterranean Revival style, the castle has 38 bedrooms and more than 40 bathrooms.

The buildings became home to many of the antiques and artworks in Hearst's collection, and it even once housed the world's largest private zoo, with zebra, camels, antelope, kangaroos, ostriches and emus grazing freely on the hillside. After Hearst's death in 1951, his family gave the castle to the state of California. While the family still owns much of the land, the state opens the house, now known as the Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument, to visitors.

The Hearst family’s extraordinary story