10 Jean Paul Getty

Jean Paul Getty was born in 1892 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He became a millionaire when he was only 24. His father was wealthy,but he did not help his son. Getty made his millions alone. Like his father, he made his money from oil. He owned Getty Oil and over 100 other companies. One magazine called Getty “the richest man in the world.”

But money did not buy happiness for Getty. He married five times and divorced five times.He had five children but spent little time with them. None of Getty's children had very happy lives.

Getty cared a lot about money. He loved to make money and loved to save it.He was a very stingy man.Every evening,he wrote down every cent he spent that day. He lived in England in a house with 72 bedrooms. He put pay telephones in his guests' bedrooms so he could save money on phone bills.

In 1973, kidnappers took his grandson. They asked for money to release the boy. Getty's son asked his father for money to save his child. Getty refused. So the kidnappers cut off the boy's ear. Finally, Getty lent the money to his son, but at 4 percent interest.

Getty had another side. He loved to collect art. He started a museum at his home in Malibu, California. He bought many important and beautiful pieces of art for the museum. When Getty died in 1976, the value of the art in the museum was $1 billion. He left all his money to the museum. After his death, the museum grew in size. Today it is one of the most important museums in the United States. Getty made his money from oil. But he gave his money to the art world because he wanted people to learn about and love art.