Jean Paul Getty (; December 15, 1892 - June 6, 1976) was an American-British industrialist. He founded the Getty Oil Company, and in 1957 Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, while the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1.2 billion (approximately $9.05 billion in 2017). At his death, he was worth more than $6 billion (approximately $25.80 billion in 2017).

On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relation of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly-purchased Sutton Place. 1,200 guests consisting of the cream of British society were invited. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10pm the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls, causing an estimated L20,000 in damages. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made the newly-arrived Getty the object of ridicule, and he never threw another large party again.  Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973 caused a worldwide oil shortage for years to come. In this period, the value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled, with Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD).  His insatiable appetite for women and sex also continued well into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, "H3", to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960 she resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place, and, though she did not have a sexual relationship with him, Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch.  The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement that: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Penelope Kitson received a handsome bequest upon Getty's death: 5,000 Getty Oil shares (appr. $826,500 in 1976), which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income.  Getty died June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey, England. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public.

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