William Radndolf Hearst was born on April 29, 1863 in San Francisco. He was raised as an only son to Phoebe Hearst(Mother), and Gerge Hearst(Father), a mining engineer and owner of gold and other mines, who later served as a U.S. senator from 1886 till his death in 1891.
At the age of 16 William Hearst went to St. Paul's preparatory school in concord, New Hampshire. Afterwards he continued his education at Harverd College in the class of 1885 and was expleled two years later. during his time there he excelled at journalism and was the business manager of the Harvard Lampoon. He also was elected to the "Hasty Pudding" theatrical group which revealed his talent and interest in drama. He was expelled for his antics which ranged from sponsoring massive beer parties in the Harvard Square to sending his professors chamber pots with their images depicted within the bowls.
Later on William Hearst moved to New York City and in 1895 he entered the newspaper newspaper by purchasing the theretofore unsuccessful New York Morning Journal. He hired able writers such as Stephen Crane and Julian Hawthrone. Richard Outcault was purchased away from Joseph Pulitzer the owner of the compeating newspaper the New Nork World. Richard was hired to draw cartoons and illustrations for the newspaper. William printed giant headlines on the newspaper covering stories over crime, corrupion and other sensatioal articles. His newspaper got alot of attention producing an unprecedented circulation do to its contents and lower price. William and Joseph enterned a fierce war of circulation using sensationalistic reporting and promotional schemes which brought about the rise of the term yellow journalism.
During 1903-1907 William servered as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He tried runing, though unsuccessfully, for the President of the United States in 1904, for the Mayor of New York in 1905 and 1909, and for Governor of New York in 1906. Claiming to speak on behalh of the working class during his political career, he endorsed views generally associated with the left wing of thte Progressive Movement.
By 1925 William was well establish having established newspapers all across the United States as well as magazines aswell as publishing books and poducing movies. During the 1920s on a 240,000-acre ranch in San Simeon, California, he built an elaborate castle furnishing it with his vast collection of antiques and art objects he had bought in Europe.
After 1918 and the end of Wold War I, Hearst began to abopt more conservative views and also started to promot an isolationist foreign policy to avoid more entanglement in what he regarded as corrupt European affairs. He became a militant nationalist, and a devoted anti-communist after the Russian Revolution, while also having deep suspicion of the League of Nations and of the British, French, Japanese, and Russians. He became a supporter of the Nazi party, following the rise of Hitler's power, ordering his journalists to publish favorable coverage of Nazi Germany in his newspapers, even allowing leading Nazis to publish articles in the newspapers. During 1932-1934 he was a leading supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt, but then broke with FDR becoming his most prominent enemy on the right.
In 1935 Randolf was at the peak of his fortune, owning 28 major newspapers and 18 magazines, with several radio stations, movie companies, and news services. He had reached a circulation of 20 million readers a day. However during the Great Depression in the 1930s do to his poor managment of finances, he become so deep in debt. His financial position was severly weakened, and most of his assets had to be liquidated. He had to sell faltering newspapers, and was soon forced in 1937 to begin selling off some of his art collection, and by 1940 had lost personal control of his vast communications empire he had built. The last years of his life was lived in virtual seclusion.