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Gordon Getty: Getty Oil
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Gordon Peter Getty was born on December 20, 1934. He is the fourth child of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty. When his father died in 1976, control of his US$2 billion trust was transferred to Gordon.
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Gordon P. Getty describes himself as a man from another era. "I am two-thirds a 19th-century composer," says the 72-year old son of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty. He idolizes Schubert, Beethoven, and Wagner and composes waltzes, chamber works, and oratorios in his ample spare time.
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The son of a Minneapolis oilman, Getty started as a general laborer in the Oklahoma oilfields. He became an independent oil producer in 1914, and held presidential and directorial positions with several oil companies between 1930 and 1936. From 1942 to 1961 Getty was president, general manager, and principal owner of the Minnehoma Financial Corp. In 1948 he became president and principal owner of the Getty Oil Co. and in 1956 president of the Mission Corp. From World War II until his death on June 6, 1976, Getty was considered one of the richest men in the world. (The Getty Oil Co. was sold to Texaco Oil Co. in the 1980s for $4 billion; the company’s name was retained.)
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It started as a bitter struggle between Gordon Getty, amateur composer and opera singer, and the defiant managers running Getty Oil, the cornerstone of the empire built by the late Jean Paul Getty. As the battle developed, both sides resorted to intrigue and duplicity worthy of the Medicis. But late last week, giant Texaco unexpectedly entered the picture and seemed likely to emerge the winner by offering to buy up Getty Oil for about $9.9 billion. The deal, subject to stockholder approval and a green light from Justice Department antitrust lawyers, could be the largest takeover in U.S. history (previous record holder: Du Font's acquisition of Conoco in 1981 for $7.2 billion).
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Jean Paul Getty was an American industrialist and founder of the Getty Oil Company. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, into a family already in the petroleum business, he was one of the first people in the world with a fortune of over $1 billion U.S. dollars. He was an avid collector of art and antiquities, and his collection forms the basis of the J. Paul Getty Museum in California.
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Getty has often been described as an absent-minded professor. Asked if his wide-ranging skills stem from a common personality trait, he says: "I can't find a connection" among them. As a young man his business acumen was sometimes in question -- until he oversaw the 1986 sale of Getty Oil. As the largest shareholder, he agreed to sell the company to Pennzoil. But before the documents were signed, Texaco made a better offer of $10.1 billion, which Getty took, showing he could be as nimble-minded as he was contemplative. "When a crisis happens in business, it gets my attention," he says.
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