Who is William Randolph Hearst from Travels in Hyper Reality: Essays and what is their importance?

He was the creator and founder of Hearst Castle in Santa Barbara, California. Eco describes the building as "Xanadu of Citizen Kane". Hearst constructed his private "Fortress of Solitude", using pieces of different buildings in Europe and then importing them to the United States. The resulting building is a combination of abbeys, palaces and convents, and is as much a museum as a place to live.