'Some of us work for a living'

he was putting his capital to work not living on inherited money.

Whether he inherited his money or not, it seemed like he worked his ass off with several projects at the same time.

Do you know if Hughes actually said that or is it a line of dialogue created by a screen writer?

Regardless, Hughes Sr. worked to create a successful company.

Hughes Jr. worked to grow it and grew it exponentially . Hughes Jr, was not a ne'er-do-well living off his father's earnings. He was an engineer who took active roles in his myriad of companies and advanced several industries.

Hughes, Jr didn't just invest in the film industry. He owned a studio and did the work of running the studio and directing films. As a director he created new film techniques that are still used today.

He took an active role in the aviation company he formed. He designed planes and piloted them. More than once at risk to his life.

Hughes even invented the pushup bra.

Las Vegas in its current form exists because of him, not Bugsy Siegel. Corporations like his moved into Vegas which is the reason the mob lost control and the city is run like a business. The book Casino mentions this; the movie hints at it.

Nearly 50 years after his death, his real estate company still exists.


Oh, yeah and Hughes Jr, created a lot of jobs and wealth at all levels of society.

.

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Americans earned a living based on Howard Hughes expenditures, risks and ventures from his fortune. The Hepburns? Old money sitting on old money traded between other old money.

And Hughes also made this happen

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland.[3][4] It was founded in 1953, by Howard Hughes who was an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer,[5] film director, and philanthropist, who was known during his lifetime as one of the most financially successful individuals in the world. It is one of the largest private funding organizations for biological and medical research in the United States. HHMI spends about $1 million per HHMI Investigator per year, which amounts to annual investment in biomedical research of about $825 million.

The institute has an endowment of $22.6 billion, making it the second-wealthiest philanthropic organization in the United States and the second-best endowed medical research foundation in the world.[6] HHMI is the former owner of the Hughes Aircraft Company – an American aerospace firm which was divested to various firms over time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hughes_Medical_Institute