What was J. Paul Getty’s Net Worth?
Jean Paul Getty, the American businessman and founder of Getty Oil Company, had a net worth of $2 billion at the time of his death in 1976. He was born into his father’s petroleum business and became one of the first people in the world to have made over $1 billion. Getty was named the richest living American in 1957 and the world’s richest private citizen in 1966 with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion.
Aside from business, Getty was also a lover of art and antiques. He formed the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California, which is part of the J. Paul Getty Trust. The trust is one of the world’s wealthiest art institutions and operates the Getty Foundation, The Getty Research Institute, and The Getty Conservation Institute.
Jean Paul Getty’s Background
Jean Paul Getty was born on December 15, 1892 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His family became millionaires after his father purchased land that began producing 100,000 barrels of crude oil per month. Getty attended Harvard Military School and Polytechnic High School and was fluent in French, German, and Italian, among other languages. He briefly attended the University of California, Berkeley before completing his studies in economics and political science at the University of Oxford in England where he made notable friends including Edward VIII, the future King of the United Kingdom.
J. Paul Getty’s Rise to Wealth and Business Ventures
In 1914, Getty invested $10,000 from his father to expand the family’s oil field holdings in Oklahoma, becoming a millionaire within a year. He invested wisely, acquiring Pacific Western Oil Corporation, Tidewater Oil, and Skelly Oil, and merging them into Getty Oil.
Getty made a huge gamble in 1948 by negotiating a deal to purchase the rights to the Saudi Arabian Neutral Zone oil concession from Ibn Saud. Oil was discovered in 1953, producing 16 million barrels a year, making him one of the richest people in the world. He expanded his business in the Middle East, gaining the controlling interest in around 200 businesses.
Getty was also an art collector and wrote several books on the subject. Although he was frugal with his own collection, it was valued at around $4 million at the time of his death and transferred to the Getty Museum.
In 1984, Getty’s grandson Peter doubled the family fortune by selling Getty Oil to Texaco.
J. Paul Getty’s Personal Life
J. Paul Getty, known for his extreme frugality and womanizing reputation, was involved in a paternity suit in 1917 and settled for $10,000. He married five times and had five sons, one of whom died at the age of 12. Getty was known for his excessive work hours and mistresses who lived in his mansion. He died of heart failure in 1976 at the age of 83 and was buried in Pacific Palisades, California.
Getty’s frugality was evident throughout his life, as he scolded his fifth wife for spending too much on their son’s medical treatments and did his laundry by hand to save money. He also refused to pay the full ransom for his grandson’s kidnapping by the Italian mafia in 1973 and only agreed to pay a reduced amount after receiving proof of the boy’s condition.
