Paul Getty's Quotes

I vehemently deny that I was born a cynic and a pessimist.

I was 37 when my father died-and I no longer had any freedom of choice over what I would do with the rest of my life.

I was brought up in an era when thrift was still considered a virtue.

In Japan, I was immensely impressed by the politeness, industrious nature and conscientiousness of the Japanese people.

Jack Dempsey and I became friends in the very early 1920s.

My wealth is not a subject I relish discussing.

My yachts were, I suppose, outstanding status symbols.

The overwhelming majority of my rated wealth consists of investments in companies that produce goods and services.

The Roaring Twenties were the period of that Great American Prosperity which was built on shaky foundations.

There are at least 50 cities in the world that would have liked to obtain the Getty Collection.

There are heads of royal families who control hereditary fortunes that defy comprehension.

What I learned at Oxford has been used to great advantage throughout my business career.

Whether we like it or not, men and women are not the same in nature, temperament, emotions and emotional responses.

The beauty one can find in art is one of the pitifully few real and lasting products of human endeavor.

A hatred of failure has always been part of my nature.

My love of fine art increased - the more of it I saw, the more of it I wanted to see.

You cannot further the Brotherhood of Man by encouraging class hatred.

Before marriage, many couples are very much like people rushing to catch an airplane; once aboard, they turn into passengers. They just sit there.

I've never been one to bet on the weather.

You cannot bring about prosperity without discouraging thrift.

My formula for success is rise early, work late, and strike oil.

Nationalized industries are notorious for their inability to operate at a profit.

Nostalgia often leads to idle speculation.

Rhetoric and dialectics can't change what I have learned from observation and experience.

The rich are not born sceptical or cynical. They are made that way by events, circumstances.

A marriage contract to me is as binding as any in business, and I have always believed in sticking to an agreement.