J. Paul Getty Quotes

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

“A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure.”

“A man can fail, but he isn't a failure until he blames someone else.”

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

“A sense of thrift is essential to success in business. The businessman must discipline himself to practice economy whenever possible, in his personal life as well as his business affairs.”

“Age doesn't matter, unless you are cheese.”

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

“Books, like proverbs, receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of the ages through which they have passed.”

“Build wealth as a by-product of your business success. If wealth is your only objective in business, you will probably fail.”

“Buy when everyone else is selling and hold until everyone else is buying. That's not just a catchy slogan. It's the very essence of successful investing.”

“Control of a company does not carry with it the ability to control the price of its stock.”

“During the 1950s, Aristotle Onassis and I formed what grew to be a close friendship and association in several business ventures.”

“Each of my wives was jealous and resentful of my preoccupation with business. Yet none showed any visible aversion to sharing in the proceeds.”

“Five wives can't all be wrong.”

“Formula for Success: Rise early, work hard, strike oil.”

“Getting results through people is a skill that cannot be learned in the classroom.”

“Going to work for a large company is like getting on a train. Are you going sixty miles an hour or is the train going sixty miles an hour and you're just sitting still?”

“Governments, of course, can – and do – soak the rich.”

“How does one measure the success of a museum?”

“I am neither a homosexual nor a eunuch, nor have I ever taken any vows of chastity.”

“I buy when other people are selling.”

“I can afford to say what I wish.”

“I find all this money a considerable burden.”

“I hate to be a failure. I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success.”

“I have absolutely no intention of marrying Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.”

“I have always enjoyed the company of women and have formed deep and long-lasting friendships with many of them.”

“I have no complex about wealth. I have worked very hard for my money; producing things people need.”

“I take pride in the creation of my wealth, in its existence and in the uses to which it has been and is being put.”

“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.”