MY LIFE AND FORTUNES

by J. Paul Getty ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 22, 1963

For nearly half a century, certainly since his first wildcat well came in in 1916, the author-subject of this volume had been quietly going about his own business. Then in 1957 Fortune published an article which ""marked a turning point in my life in the sense that it had the effect of ending my existence as an ordinary private citizen and made me, for better or worse, a public figure."" The article called him ""the richest American"". Others since have called him ""the world's richest man"". He modestly tells us he does not know if he is really either of these things-- his billions are all spread around working for him, and he doesn't go prying into other people's fortunes to see if he has more. ""I cannot honestly claim that I possessed any innate talents nor even any particular desire for a business career,"" he says; he wanted to be a writer or join the Navy or the Foreign Service, and even claims a ""strong inclination to be a beachcomber."" No one can tell what he might have achieved in the last three professions, but most readers of this autobiography would agree that he did well to spurn the first. Well by well, stock by stock, hotel by hotel, objet d'art by objet d'art, a more tedious account of endless acquisition can scarcely be imagined. The title should have read: My Fortunes. The life, if there was one, is not here; 5 wives, 5 divorces, 5 sons, and a pathetic handful of ""colorful"" friends, all slip by in a pallid sentence or two. The rest is money.

Pub Date: May 22, 1963

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Duell, Sloan & Pearce

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1963

Categories: NONFICTION