Hughes was living in the Intercontinental Hotel near Lake Managua in Nicaragua , seeking privacy and security , when a magnitude 6.5 earthquake damaged Managua in December 1972 . As a precaution , Hughes moved first to a rather large tent , facing the hotel , then after a few days there to the Nicaraguan National Palace and stayed there as a guest of Anastasio Somoza Debayle before leaving for Florida on a private jet the following day . He subsequently moved into the Penthouse at the Xanadu Princess Resort on Grand Bahama Island , which he had recently purchased . He lived almost exclusively in the penthouse of the Xanadu Beach Resort & Marina for the last four years of his life . Hughes had spent a total of $ 300 million on his many properties in Las Vegas
magnitude 6.5 earthquake
1972 Nicaragua earthquake
Howard Hughes