Jean Paul Getty

Jean Paul Getty was born on December 15, 1892 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was married to Theodora Lynch, Ann Rork, Adolphine Helmle, Allene Ashby and Jeannette Demont.

His first big break in the oil business occurred in 1915, when he purchased an interest in an oil lease on a farm south of Tulsa, Oklahoma for $500. His contemporaries thought him foolish, but 3 days after striking oil, he realized $11,850 from his share of the profits. By the age of 24, he had made his first $1 million.

In the aftermath of the stock market crash of 1929, he was able to purchase stocks at record low prices to continue to build his wealth. It was during the Depression that he was able to take over Tide Water Associated Oil Company, one of the 10 largest in America.

He was the son of Sarah Catherine McPherson (Risher) and George Franklin Getty, a prominent lawyer and businessperson. When his father died in 1930, he left an estate valued at $15,478,137. The bulk of the estate went to his mother, but he received $500,000 cash.

In 1933, he divorced Adolphine Getty after 5 years of marriage. She agreed to relinquish all claim to his estate for $60,000 in cash. He also agreed to pay her $110 per month to support his son, J. Ronald Getty.

He offered King Saud $9,500,000 plus a large share of the profits for oil concessions in the Middle East. His contemporaries thought him foolish, after dumping nearly $30 million into the venture. But by 1953, after one of history's largest oil strikes, he was enriched by several hundred million dollars.

He received $200 per day from Warner Brothers to film Rebel Without a Cause (1955) at his empty Los Angeles Mansion.

In 1959, he purchased Sutton Place, a 72 room English manse on 1500 acres which was once owned by King Henry VIII. He purchased the estate from the financially struggling Duke of Sutherland for a bargain price of $140,000. Sutherland had purchased the estate for $600,000 in 1917.

Friend of Christopher Lee. Getty let Lee use his Sutton Place home for Lee's honeymoon in 1961.

Even though he was known for his frugality, he had a knack for collecting valuable art. On his 64 acre Malibu, California estate, he built a $18 million museum and covered its expenses with an endowment of $40 million. The museum opened in 1974.

When he died in 1976, he left the Getty Museum in California 21% of Getty Oil stock, or approximately $700 million.