Quotes By Paul Getty

I can afford to say what I wish.

Nostalgia often leads to idle speculation.

I have absolutely no intention of marrying Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

You cannot bring about prosperity without discouraging thrift.

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

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

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

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.

My wealth is not a subject I relish discussing.

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

I am - and have always been - a Methodist.

I have never been given to envy - save for the envy I feel toward those people who have the ability to make a marriage work and endure happily.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Governments, of course, can - and do - soak the rich.

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