George Getty

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the US Civil War Union general, see George W. Getty.
George Getty
Los Angeles, California, United States
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
EducationOhio Northern University (BS)
University of Michigan (JD)
OccupationBusinessman
Known forGetty Oil
SpouseSarah Catherine McPherson Risher
ChildrenJ. Paul Getty
FamilyGetty

George Franklin Getty (October 17, 1855 – May 31, 1930) was an American lawyer, pioneer oilman, father of industrialist J. Paul Getty, and patriarch of the Getty family.[1]

Life and career

Getty was born in 1855 in

Presbyterian Ulster Scots peasant who immigrated to America and claimed kinship with the namesake of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.[2] However, Robert Lenzner wrote in his book The Great Getty that Gettysburg was founded by the Gettys family, not Getty.[3] Shortly after his birth Getty's family moved from Maryland to Ohio where his father died in 1861. George was forced to work at a young age until his uncle, Joseph Getty, provided funds for him to attend school. He earned a Bachelor of Science from Ohio Northern University
in 1879.

Eventually Getty married and attended law school at the

typhoid epidemic that hit the city. In 1892, the Gettys had another child, a son, Jean Paul Getty (later known as J. Paul Getty
).

In 1904, the Gettys moved from

Los Angeles, California. In 1913, George lent his son Jean Paul (then aged 21) money to invest in oil wells. By 1915, Jean Paul had made his first million and the following year George and Jean Paul incorporated the Getty Oil Company, later to become Getty Oil
.

George never approved of Jean Paul's lifestyle.[citation needed] Perhaps this is why he did not leave the company in the sole control of his son. George F. Getty died in 1930. He left his estate, in the form of the controlling interest in the family firm "George F. Getty, Inc.", and valued at between $10 million and $15 million U.S. ($182.39 million and $273.59 million, respectively, in 2023), to his wife Sarah, although Jean Paul Getty became President of the firm.[citation needed]

George Getty II

Jean Paul Getty's eldest son, George Franklin Getty's grandson, was named George Franklin Getty II (1924–1973). He was an executive in the Getty Oil company until his death, which the

Mayor of Los Angeles
.

References

  1. ^ J. Paul Getty at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  2. ^ Russell Miller, The House of Getty (Google eBook) (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011)
  3. ^ Robert Lenzner, The Great Getty:The Life and Loves of J. Paul Getty-Richest Man in the World (Crown Publishers, Inc., 1986)
  4. ^ Miller, Julie. “Trust: Revisiting George Getty’s Mysterious, Violent 1973 Death”, Vanity Fair (25 Mar 2018).
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