J Paul Getty Biography

(born Dec. 15, 1892, Minneapolis, Minn., U.S.—died June 6, 1976, Sutton Place, Surrey, Eng.) U.S. oil billionaire, reputed to be the richest man in the world at his death. The son of an oil millionaire, he began buying and selling oil leases in Oklahoma in 1913. He acquired Pacific Western Oil Corp. in 1932 and soon gained control of several independent oil companies. He renamed his oil concern Getty Oil Co. in 1956. His most lucrative venture was a 60-year oil concession in Saudi Arabia. His financial empire eventually encompassed some 200 enterprises. A zealous art collector, he founded the J. Paul Getty Museum near Malibu, Calif., in 1953.