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For example, his celebrated fear of germs: a 1946 air crash injured his lungs, rendering him susceptible to bronchial infection. As for his shyness, he was embarrassed both by his increasing deafness and the injuries that had marred his looks. Three air crashes had mangled his nose and cheeks. While flying over Siberia on a globe-circling flight in 1938, Hughes had had to breathe oxygen for many hours through an aluminum tube; that froze his jaw, causing a bone disease that slowly eroded his profile. Still, he remained a reasonably handsome man, but unfortunately he failed to think so.
Above all, Hughes' withdrawal stemmed from a deep fear that others would gain power over him. It was an ironic inversion of his own ruthless desire to impose his will on others. In an exchange of messages with a Merrill Lynch executive in 1960, Hughes boasted that for most of his life he had never done anything that he did not want to. Though he attracted many talented people into his service, he demanded a total obedience
that ultimately repulsed nearly all of them. Similarly, he was driven to possess his women, was wildly jealous to retain them for himself alone although he had moved on to other interests (see box).
Even in isolation, Hughes devised methods that made him highly effective as a wheeler and dealer. His deteriorating health was, of course, a handicap, but at times when he felt strong, his mind was sharp and clear. Until as late as 1972, he retained the overall control of his empire by poring over his companies' performance reports, peppering aides with memos and reading a wide selection of the nation's press. He orchestrated the activities of his aides down to the last detail and closely supervised their business transactions.
When negotiating business deals himself, Hughes, who had the reputation of being the world's greatest procrastinator and nitpicker, continued to be an exasperating haggler. Always trying to squeeze out a better deal, he refused to be moved by deadlines or ultimatums imposed by the other side. A favorite Hughes rebuttal: "I will not negotiate with a gun at my head!"
"Those who dealt with him were almost always driven to absolute fits of frustration," wrote TIME Associate Editor David B. Tinnin in his book, Just About Everybody vs. Howard Hughes (1973). Continued Tinnin, who interviewed scores of people who had dealt with him: "One banker who did business for many years with him maintains that Hughes operates according to four principles. One: Never make a decision. Let someone else make it and then if it turns out to be the wrong one, you can disclaim it, and if it is the right one, you can abide by it. Two: Always postpone any deadline—for a week, a day, or even half an hour. Who knows, the situation may change in your favor if only you have the patience to wait. Three: Divide and conquer —both your foes and friends. Play off everyone against each other so that you have more avenues of action open to you. Four: Every man has his price. The only problem, therefore, is finding out what the price is."