Quotes from J. Paul Getty

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

How does one measure the success of a museum?

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.

There is only one way to make a great deal of money; and that is in a business of your own.

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.

The key to wealth is to learn how to make money while you sleep

Men of means look at making money as a game which they love to play.

Money is like manure. You have to spread it around or it smells.

Wealth is only a benefit of the game of money. If you win, the money will be there.

Money is like manure, you don't have to spread it around, you can just sell it to Potash Corp as fertilizer.

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

Patience; this is the greatest business asset. Wait for the right time to make your moves.

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

To succeed in business, to reach the top, an individual must know all it is possible to know about that business.

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.

The overwhelming majority of my rated wealth consists of investments in companies that produce goods and services.

My wealth is not a subject I relish discussing.

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

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

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

People who don't respect money don't have any.

The man who comes up with a means for doing or producing almost anything better, faster or more economically has his future and his fortune at his fingertips.

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