As I See It, J. Paul Getty Autobiography

Jean Paul Getty (December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American industrialist and founder of the Getty Oil Company. Image File history File links As_I_See_It. ... Image File history File links As_I_See_It. ... December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining // 1508 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year truce and cede several territories to Venice 1513... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Getty Oil is an oil company founded by J. Paul Getty. ...

Biography

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, into a family already in the petroleum business, he was one of the first people in the world with a fortune of over $1 billion U.S. dollars. He was an avid collector of art and antiquities, and his collection forms the basis of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California. This article is about the city in Minnesota. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area  Ranked 12th  - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 8. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Antiquity means different things: Generally it means ancient history, and may be used of any period before the Middle Ages. ... A building at the Getty Center, seen from the Central Garden The Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, is the current home of the J. Paul Getty Museum as well as a research institute, conservation institute, grant program, and leadership institute. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

He enrolled at the University of Southern California, then at Berkeley before graduating in 1914 from Magdalen College, Oxford with degrees in economics and political science. He worked during the summers on his father's oil fields in Oklahoma. Running his own oil company in Tulsa, he made his first million by 1916. However, in 1917, he announced that he was retiring to become a Los Angeles-based playboy. Although he eventually returned to business, Getty had lost his father's respect. Just before George Franklin Getty died in 1930, he believed that Jean Paul would destroy the family company, and told him so. The University of Southern California (commonly referred to as USC, SC, Southern California, and incorrectly as Southern Cal[1]), located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA, was founded in 1880, making it Californias oldest private research university. ... The University of California, Berkeley (also known as UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, and by other names, see below) is the oldest and flagship campus of the ten-campus University of California system. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... College name Magdalen College Collegium Beatae Mariae Magdalenae Named after Mary Magdalene Established 1458 Sister College Magdalene College President Professor David Clary FRS JCR President Iain Anstess Undergraduates 395 MCR President Kader Allouni Graduates 230 Homepage Boatclub Magdalen College (pronounced ) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of... Face-to-face trading interactions among on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor Economics, as a social science, studies the production, distribution, and consumption of resources. ... Political science is the field of the social sciences concerning the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ... Downtown Tulsa Tulsa is the second-largest city in Oklahoma. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ...

In fact Getty increased the family wealth, teaching himself Arabic to assist in his expansion into the Middle East.

He moved to England in the 1950s, where he lived and worked at his 16th-century Tudor estate, Sutton Place near Guildford, until his death. The 1950s was the decade spanning from the 1st of January, 1950 to the 31st December, 1959. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Allegory of the Tudor dynasty (detail), attributed to Lucas de Heere, ca 1572: left to right, Philip II of Spain, Mary, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Elizabeth The Tudor period usually refers to the historical period between 1485 and 1558, especially in relation to the history of England. ... Statistics Population: 66819 (2001) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SU9949 Administration District: Guildford Shire county: Surrey Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Surrey Historic county: Surrey Services Police force: Surrey Police Ambulance service: South East Coast Post office and telephone Post town...

Marriages

Getty married five times to:

1. Jeanette Dumont (1923–25); one son George Franklin Getty (died 1973)
2. Allene Ashby (1926–28)
3. Adolphine Helmle (1928–32); one son Jean Ronald Getty
4. Ann Rork (1932–35); two sons John Paul Getty (1932-2003) and Gordon Getty (born 1934)
5. Theodora "Teddy" Lynch; one son Timothy Getty (died aged 12)

1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sir John Paul Getty KBE (September 7, 1932 – April 17, 2003) was a wealthy American-born British philanthropist and book-collector. ... Son of business titan J. Paul Getty (d. ...

Views on His Own Success

Getty wrote a very successful book entitled How to be Rich. Note that it was not "How to get Rich." His oil business was handed to him by his father, who started the business.

Getty fully acknowledges this in his autobiography, I enjoyed the advantage of being born into an already-wealthy family, and when I began my business career I was subsidized by my father. While I did make money-and quite a bit of it-on my own, I doubt if there would be a 'Getty Empire' today if I had not taken over my father's thriving oil business after his death. (Getty, 1976, pg.336).

Common ideas about Jean Paul Getty

Coin-box Telephone

It is true that Getty had a pay phone installed at Sutton Place manor. However, the reason behind it is fairly simple. In Getty's own autobiography (Getty, 1976, pg.319):

"Now, for months after Sutton Place was purchased, great numbers of people came in and out of the house. Some were visiting businessmen. Others were artisans or workmen engaged in renovation and refurbishing. Still others were tradesmen making deliveries of merchandise. Suddenly, the Sutton Place telephone bills began to soar. The reason was obvious. Each of the regular telephones in the house has direct access to outside lines and thus to long-distance and even overseas operators. All sorts of people were making the best of a rare opportunity. They were picking up Sutton Place phones and placing calls to girlfriends in Geneva or Georgia and to aunts, uncles and third cousins twice-removed in Caracas and Cape Town. The costs of their friendly chats were, of course, charged to the Sutton Place bill."

Hence, the only solution was to place dial-locks on all the regular telephones, limiting their use to authorised staff, and the coin-box telephone was installed for others.

Getty's Initial Refusal to Pay Ransom

At age 16, on 10 July 1973 in Rome, John Paul Getty III was kidnapped and a ransom of $17 million was demanded over the phone for his safe return. As Paul III was so rebellious, when the first ransom message arrived, the family suspected a ploy by the teenager to extract money from his miserly grandfather. A second demand was delayed by an Italian postal strike ^[1]. John Paul Getty II asked his father for the money, but was refused ^[2]. Finally, in November 1973 an envelope containing a lock of hair and a human ear was delivered to a daily newspaper, with a threat of further mutilation unless $3.2 million was paid over: "This is Paul’s ear. If we don’t get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits." At this point J. Paul Getty agreed to pay a ransom, subject to him negotiating the fee, and Paul II repaying the sum at 4% interest ^[3]. July 10 is the 191st day (192nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 174 days remaining. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1,285 km²  (496. ... On 10 July 1973, in Rome, John Paul Getty III, grandson of oil billionaire and renowned scrooge, John Paul Getty, was kidnapped and a ransom of $17 million was demanded over the phone for his safe return. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

Still reluctant to part with the ransom, Getty senior negotiated a deal and got his grandson back for about $2 million. Paul III was found alive in southern Italy shortly after the ransom was paid. His kidnappers were never caught ^[4]. Paul III was permanently affected by the trauma, and himself became a drug addict. In 1981, Paul III was rendered speechless, blind and paralysed for the rest of his life by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol. 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

J Paul Getty defends his initial refusal to pay the ransom on two points. Firstly he argues that he had fourteen other grandchildren, and to submit to the kidnappers' demands would immediately place his other fourteen grandchildren at the risk of copy-cat kidnappers.

Secondly: "The second reason for my refusal was much broader-based. I contend that acceding to the demands of criminals and terrorists merely guarantees the continuing increase and spread of lawlessness, violence and such outrages as terror-bombings, 'skyjackings' and the slaughter of hostages that plague our present-day world" (Getty, 1976, pg.139).

Published works

• How to be Rich, a collection of Getty's essays.
• As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty , Getty's autobiography published shortly before his death.

See also

• Getty Center and J. Paul Getty Museum

A building at the Getty Center, seen from the Central Garden The Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, is the current home of the J. Paul Getty Museum as well as a research institute, conservation institute, grant program, and leadership institute. ...

References

• • As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty , Getty's autobiography published shortly before his death.