Howard Hughes built nothing.
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. ( December 24 , 1905 -- April 5 , 1976 ) was an American businessman , investor , pilot , film director , and philanthropist , known during his lifetime as one of the most financially successful individuals in the world . He spent the rest of the 1930s setting multiple world air speed records and building the Hughes H-1 Racer and H-4 Hercules ( the `` Spruce Goose '' ) . The Hughes XF-11 was a prototype military reconnaissance aircraft , designed and flown by Howard Hughes and built by Hughes Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces .