J. Paul Getty was a millionaire by the time he reached 24

From CNN Correspondent Jennifer Auther

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- When J. Paul Getty died in 1976, he left 4 million shares of Getty Oil stock to his Malibu, California, museum -- shares valued at about $700 million. Some of his heirs contested, and by the time the estate settled in 1982, the bequest had swelled to $1.2 billion, more than enough to launch the Getty Center in Los Angeles.

Getty was born in Minneapolis in 1892. At one time or another before his death 21 years ago, Getty was called a miserly recluse, an eccentric billionaire, and a so-so art collector. In a sense, all of those are true -- but the man whose legacy is now the $1 billion Getty Center wanted to be remembered for being "well-rounded."

Getty graduated Oxford in 1913, and two years later cut perhaps the best deal of his life: For $500, he bought half interest in a land lease in Oklahoma -- for land rich in oil. Getty, taking over his father's oil company, was a millionaire by the time he reached 24.

As a young man, Getty began collecting art, with no visions of being a major player. His first significant purchase was a 17th century Dutch landscape. He paid $1,100 for it in 1930. It was the start of a multi-million dollar collection.

"I purposely kept away from modern art," Getty once said of his collection, "defining modern art as art of the last 30 or 40 years."

Another early and definitive acquisition was the Lansdowne Herakles, a Roman marble copy of the Greek original from the 4th century B.C.

"I've always been interested in Greek sculpture," he said. "And I think some of my sculptures are what I value most."

Along with his treasured sculptures, Getty's interest in French decorative art led to a collection second to none in the United States.

Getty wanted to be remembered for being "well-rounded"

Getty's collection grew, although, as Los Angeles Times art critic Suzanne Muchnic said, he was known as "a bit of a Scrooge when it came to paintings." In 1951, Getty moved to Europe and installed a pay phone in his mansion, encouraging such labels.

Three years after his move to Europe, Getty opened a museum in Malibu, California -- ironically, a museum he never saw himself. But Getty's collection didn't go far with the critics.

"The Getty's art collection was a point of ridicule and jokes in the art world, say, 20 years ago," Muchnic said.

Reportedly, the reviews hurt Getty deeply, and became part of the reason he never returned to the United States.

The billionaire's personal life was also a source of criticism. He was married and divorced five times, and had five sons. The Getty name made headlines again in 1973 when his grandson was kidnapped and his ear mutilated, and Getty stalled on the ransom.

Getty's wish, however, was to be remembered not for his eccentricities, but rather "as a man who was well-rounded," he once said. "Interested in business, but also interested in other things."

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