J. Paul Getty: The Real Story Behind The Man With All The Money In The World

Getty Didn’t Even Attend The Funeral Of His 12-Year-Old Son

Find a Grave via Google Images

Despite how long his final marriage lasted, J. Paul Getty proved to be an absent family man. At the age of six in 1952, Timothy was diagnosed with a brain tumor that quickly blinded him. Although Getty flew mother and son to New York to see specialists, he never followed through on promises to visit, even making Teddy pay for the medical expenses on her own, telling her in a letter, “I’m glad you realize they are enormous. You should always… have an agreement in advance as to what the charges will be. Some doctors like to charge a rich person 20 times more than their regular fee.” When Timothy died at 12, J. Paul Getty didn’t even attend the funeral and Teddy divorced him after.