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Document 261578
J. PAUL GETTY. ALS: "Paul", 4p, 5x6½ front and verso.
Nassau, Bahamas, 1933 January 12. On stationary of the Fort Montagu Beach
Hotel to his mother three years after his father's death. In this
letter, Getty advises his mother on how to get her money from his father's
company. In full: "Dearest Mama, How I wish you were here. You would
enjoy it so. The weather is lovely. The island is beautiful. The ocean water is
75 in January. It never gets cold here, never any colder than Los Angeles in
June. I expect to be home now very soon and am most anxious to see you. I hope
the next time I travel that you will go with me. You would enjoy it and it would
do you good. You haven't been anywhere in 4 years. I met a man in Mexico City,
83 years 83 years old and travelling (sic) around the
world for pleasure. He is in good health and looked vigorous. The inheritance
tax is finally settled and I am sure we are both glad. It has been a nightmare.
Blodget will advise you how to get the money. You see the company, as a company,
has no interest in the affairs of its stockholders. The company owes no
inheritance tax and can't and won't pay any. You personally owe the tax and must
pay it thru (sic) the executors. You can get the money from the company
as an ordinary dividend, a liquidating dividend, or possibly a loan. My consent
would be necessary before you could borrow so much money from the company and I
don't think you should borrow because the amount is too large to owe anyone and
might cause you anxiety. You cannot afford to take an ordinary dividend because
the income tax would be enormous-about 40%. The best thing is for you to take a
liquidating dividend. Then you will have no income or other tax to pay and you
won't have to borrow any money. Oceans of love". Fine condition. With
original envelope, 5½x3½, postmarked Nassau, Bahamas, January 12, 1933.
Addressed by Getty to his mother: "Mrs George F. Getty/647 South Kingsley
Drive/Los Angeles, Cal.". Torn at upper right corner from removal of stamp.
Lightly soiled. When JEAN PAUL GETTY was born in 1892, his father,
George F. Getty, had a net worth $150,000; by January 1917, the elder Getty had
accumulated $1,621,590.14. The previous year, the Gettys had incorporated the
Getty Oil Company and J. Paul made his first million dollars from speculating in
Oklahoma oil leases with money lent to him by his father. When George F. Getty
died in May 1930, less than three years before this letter was written, he left
his son only $500,000 of his estate, valued at more than $10 million. Getty's
mother, SARAH GETTY, controlled two thirds of George F. Getty, Inc.,
which she sold to her son before the year was out (Christmas 1933) for $4.5
million. J. Paul, who had earlier secured the use of his mother's larger portion
to buy stock (he controlled Pacific Western Oil Corporation by 1932), paid for
the corporation in notes, not cash. Over the next few years, Getty acquired
more than 100 companies, accumulating a personal fortune of more than $1 billion
by 1976. It is interesting that Getty is writing this letter while on a
vacation. Although he "retired" at age 24 after making his first million, Getty
quickly shunned the "life of leisure" to return to the excitement of oil
prospecting in 1918. Although he became one of the world's richest men, Getty
had a legendary reputation for miserliness. Partly because of the frugal
lifestyle he had lived when his father gave him only a small living allowance.
Getty indulged in few luxuries and only gave up living in inexpensive hotel
suites at an advanced age. However, he shared his multimillion dollar collection
of art and antiquities with the public by establishing the J. Paul Getty
Museum-the largest endowment granted to an art museum at that time. Two
items.
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