J. Paul Getty
25 quotes
Biography
Jean Paul Getty Sr. was an American petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the longtime patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, he was the son of pioneer oilman George Getty.
"Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil."
"The beauty one can find in art is one of the pitifully few real and lasting products of human endeavor."
"My love of fine art increased - the more of it I saw, the more of it I wanted to see."
"I hate to be a failure. I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success."
"During the 1950s, Aristotle Onassis and I formed what grew to be a close friendship and association in several business ventures."
"My father said, 'You must never try to make all the money that's in a deal. Let the other fellow make some money too, because if you have a reputation for always making all the money, you won't have many deals'."
"The meek shall inherit the Earth, but not its mineral rights."
"If you owe the bank $100, that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem."
"I buy when other people are selling."
"To succeed in business, to reach the top, an individual must know all it is possible to know about that business."
"Without the element of uncertainty, the bringing off of even, the greatest business triumph would be dull, routine, and eminently unsatisfying."
"In times of rapid change, experience could be your worst enemy."
"In times of rapid change, experience could be your worst enemy."
"Money is like manure. You have to spread it around or it smells."
"The man who comes up with a means for doing or producing almost anything better, faster or more economically has his future and his fortune at his fingertips."
"The employer generally gets the employees he deserves."
"There are one hundred men seeking security to one able man who is willing to risk his fortune."
"Money is like manure. You have to spread it around or it smells."
"If you can actually count your money, then you're not a rich man."
"Going to work for a large company is like getting on a train. Are you going sixty miles an hour or is the train going sixty miles an hour and you're just sitting still?"
"There are one hundred men seeking security to one able man who is willing to risk his fortune."
"There is obviously something wrong with our educational system. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that there might even be something wrong with at least some of our schoolteachers. But heaven help anyone daring to express such heretical views."
"My formula for success is rise early work late and strike oil."
"In Japan, I was immensely impressed by the politeness, industrious nature and conscientiousness of the Japanese people."
"How does one measure the success of a museum?"