'''Sir John Paul Getty''' [[Order of the British Empire|KBE]] ([[September 7]], [[1932]] – [[April 17]], [[2003]]) was a wealthy [[United States|American-born]] [[United Kingdom|British]] [[philanthropist]] and book-collector. He was the son of [[J. Paul Getty|Jean Paul Getty, Sr.]] ([[1892]]-[[1976]]) -- one of the richest men in the world at the time -- and his wife Anne Rork. 

The family's wealth was the result of the oil business founded by [[George Getty|George Franklin Getty]]. At birth he was given the name '''Eugene Paul Getty''', but in later life he adopted, and was better known by,  the names '''Paul Getty''', '''John Paul Getty''' and '''Jean Paul Getty, Jr.'''

His father expected him to prove himself: his first job was pumping gas for $100 a month. He attended Saint Ignatius High School and the [[University of San Francisco]], but he did not graduate from college. He was drafted into the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] to serve in [[Korean War|Korea]].

==Marriage==

In [[1956]] he married Gail Harris, by whom he had four children: [[John Paul Getty III]] (born [[1956]]), Aileen (born [[1957]]), Mark (born [[1960]]), and Ariadne (born [[1962]]) he once said that his favourite grandson was Julius Getty. In [[1959]] he took control of [[Getty Oil]]'s [[Rome]] division, and became addicted to both [[alcohol]] and [[heroin]]. He was a registered [[heroin]] [[addict]] in [[Britain]] for years, and drug use ended his first marriage (they [[divorce]]d in [[1964]]). 

His second marriage, on [[December 10]], [[1966]], was to Talitha Pol, the daughter of painter William Pol and step-granddaughter of painter [[Augustus John]]. She died of a [[drug overdose]] on [[July 14]], [[1971]]. This marriage produced one son, Tara Gabriel Galaxy Gramophone Getty (born [[1968]]). He became reclusive following Talitha's death, leaving [[Italy]] and taking up residence in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], a fashionable district of [[London]], in [[1972]].



==Personal problems==

In [[1973]] his son, Paul III, was kidnapped in [[Rome]] and held in the Calabrian Mountains, chained to a stake in a cave. Getty did not have enough money to pay the US$17 million ransom demand, and his father refused to help, saying "I have 14 other grandchildren, and if I pay one penny now, then I will have 14 kidnapped grandchildren."  

When one of his son's ears was delivered by mail to a newspaper in Rome (delivery had been delayed by three weeks because of a postal strike), his father agreed to help out with the ransom payment. Paul III later took a mixture of prescription drugs which left him [[coma]]tose for six weeks and left him [[paralysis|paralysed]] and [[blind]].

In [[1976]], Getty's father died, but had essentially written his son out of his [[will (law)|will]], leaving him $500. Getty's money came from a family [[trust (law)|trust]] and his grandmother. After his father's death, he was able to stop using drugs. Getty's daughter Aileen was married to [[Elizabeth Taylor]]'s son, Christopher Wilding. 

Over the next decade Getty suffered from [[depression (mood)|depression]] and, in [[1984]] in a final attempt to end his drug addiction, checked himself into a [[London]] clinic. While there he received a visit from the prime minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] to thank him for his donation to the [[National Gallery, London|National Gallery]]. She reportedly helped speed his recovery by telling him, "My dear Mr. Getty, we mustn't let things get us down, must we? We'll have you out of here as soon as possible."

==Philanthropy==
[[Image:National Gallery head-on shot.jpg|thumb|250px|Getty donated £50m to the [[National Gallery, London|National Gallery]] in [[London]], [[England]]]]
Getty gave over £140m to the cause of culture. The [[National Gallery, London|National Gallery]] alone received £50m from him. He was awarded a [[Order of the British Empire|KBE]] in [[1987]], but as a foreign national could not use the title "Sir".  In December [[1997]] he was granted British citizenship and immediately renounced his US nationality. [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|The Queen]] is reported to have commented: 'Now you can use your title, that's nice.' In [[1994]] he married his third wife, Victoria Holdsworth, who had helped him conquer his drug addiction.

[[Image:CricketSCG1.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The [[sport]] of [[cricket]] became one of Paul Getty's greatest loves.]]

He became greatly interested in [[cricket]] after being introduced to the sport by [[Mick Jagger]]. He even built a cricket ground at [[Wormsley Park]], his 2,500 acre (10 km²) [[Buckinghamshire]] estate. Getty also built a large library, collecting such treasures as a first edition of [[Chaucer]], [[Ben Jonson]]'s annotated copy of [[Edmund Spenser|Spenser]], and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s [[First Folio|First]], [[Second Folio|Second]], [[Third Folio|Third]], and [[Fourth Folio|Fourth Folios]].  He also was President of [[Surrey County Cricket Club]] for one year, and gave money to [[Lord's cricket ground]] to build a new stand. Combining his loves of cricket and books, Getty purchased ownership of [[Wisden]], the famous cricketing almanack.

His personal fortune was estimated as about £1.6 billion.  He donated significant support for the [[National Gallery, London|National Gallery]], the [[British Museum]], the [[British Film Institute]], [[Hereford Cathedral]], and the [[Imperial War Museum]]. Some of his donations, especially a contribution towards the purchases of Canova's "[[The Three Graces]]" by [[The National Galleries of Scotland]] and "[[The Madonna of the Pinks]]" by [[Raphael]], foiled acquisition efforts by [[The Getty Foundation]] endowed by his father. In [[June]] [[2001]], he gave £5 million to the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]. Getty also endowed a charitable trust that supports projects that promote the arts, conservation and [[social welfare]].

He died in the London Clinic, after being admitted for treatment for a recurrent chest infection.

[[Category:1932 births|Getty, Paul]]
[[Category:2003 deaths|Getty, Paul]]
[[Category:English philanthropists|Getty, Paul]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the British Empire|Getty, Paul]]
[[Category:Getty family|Paul]]