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

Disagreements With His Father Still Proved Successful

AP via Tusla World/Google Images

Getty then partnered with his father to incorporate the Getty Oil Company, continuing to amass millions by drilling and lease brokering. Of his outright success, J. Paul Getty once said, “I started in September 1914, to buy [oil] leases in the so-called red-beds area of Oklahoma. The surface was red dirt and it was considered impossible there was any oil there. My father and I did not agree and we got many leases for very little money which later turned out to be rich leases,” according to his New York Times obituary. Despite their lucrative partnership, Getty’s own father would later make a shocking conjecture based on the way Getty handled life outside of their business.