Как стать богатым

by Жан Пол Гетти, С.Э. Борич (Translator)

Существует множество книг, посвященных тому, как делать деньги. Порой их пишут люди, которые сами в этом не слишком-то преуспели. Но уж если Жан Пол Гетти, которого журнал «Fortune» назвал самым богатым человеком в мире, не знает, как делать деньги, кто же тогда знает? На страницах этой книги миллиардер раскрывает секреты своего успеха и дает советы тем, кто хочет пойти по его стопам.

Genres: Business, Finance, Money, Nonfiction, Self Help, Biography, Personal Finance

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is titled How to Be Rich, rather than How to Get Rich, for a reason. Getty does not teach how to amass fortune, but he rather explores the philosophy, mindset, and characteristics associated with leading a rich life. What is particularly noteworthy is his characterization of three kinds of people. The first group is individuals who work best when they entirely work for themselves--when they own and operate their own business. Next are men who, for whatever reason, do not want to go in business for themselves but who work best when they are employed by others and who share in the profit of the business. Lastly, there are those who work for others but who have the same attitude towards their employer that postal clerks towards the postal department, namely they don't really care whether their employer make a profit or loss as long as their own paychecks arrive on time. From here he expounds on the Millionaire Mentality. One that's led by initiative and adhering to non-conformism.

He also talks about his business and personal failures, and what he takes away from them. Overall I find it an entertaining little book with many practical advices. Many of which are beyond business. I strongly recommend to liberals and conservatives alike.

[Franco Arda · Rating 5 out of 5]

MISLEADING TITLE
This book goes beyond the matter of making money written by one of the richest people living at his time. Getty writes that 'richness' is at least as much a matter of character, of philosophy, outlook and attitude, as it is of money. And to be truly rich, regardless of fortune or lack of it, a man must live by his own values.

While several chapters are average ... the chapter 'The Art of Individuality' if one of the finest chapters i've ever read. Artists of any profession, but in particular entrepreneurs, will profit from Getty's words on being a non-conformist, dissenter and rebel who is seldom if ever satisfied with the status quo.

[Darcy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got paid to read this. The only interesting or unique part was Getty's personal antcedotes, which we completely dated and sometimes sexist.

Did I mention I got paid?

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, this book is now out of date. Although Getty has some insights that would still work in today's modern age, most of his strategies wouldn't have worked in the 90s, much less now. I was also highly annoyed at his arrogance and chauvinism. This book was supposedly updated for the 80s, but he never ever even thinks about the possibility of a woman using this book (because, you know, it's a man's job to take care of his family. He also had some faults of logic, for instance, claiming he always thought about how his decisions would affect his employees who depended on him then turning around and saying in the next breath that all costs should be cut as much as possible to increase profits. Anyway, I'm glad I can now say I've read it for my self-education, but I wouldn't read it again and I wouldn't recommend anyone else read it unless they were hard-core into self-help type books.

[Josh Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unlikeable man talks about his viewpoint of the world with no room for other opinions.

[Pavel Annenkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

НИЧЕГО НЕ ИЗМЕНИЛОСЬ С 60-х
Такой у меня вывод после прочтения книги Джона Пола Гетти. За последние шестьдесят лет изменились технологии и открыть компанию теперь легче, но создать и сохранить бизнес сейчас также сложно, как и раньше.

Итак, мой краткий обзор автобиографии Джона Пола Гетти, написанная в 60-х годах.

О ЧЕМ КНИГА:
Эта книга уже давно в моем списке для чтения. Я даже купил её в бумажном варианте 5 лет назад во время поездки в США. Где же еще покупать книгу, как не на родине автора. И вот наконец то дошли руки до её прочтения. А триггером стал сериал Trust, снятый на основе истории о похищении внука Гетти. Меня хватило только на одну серию. Но зато я начал читать книгу)

Миллиардеры редко пишут свои автобиографии. Это удача, что Гетти решил это сделать на своем седьмом десятке.

ГЛАВНАЯ МЫСЛЬ КНИГИ:
♦️Чтобы создать и сохранить бизнес надо иметь определенный образ мышления и ценности. Одна часть из этого набора врожденная, а другой части можно научиться.

КАКАЯ БЫЛА ЦЕЛЬ ЧТЕНИЯ:
Окунуться в историю бизнеса Гетти и узнать что то для себя новое с точки зрения психологии ведения крупных сделок.

ГЛАВНЫЕ ВЫВОДЫ:
▪️Когда читаешь книгу, написанную в 60-х, то кажется, что вообще ничего не изменилось. Те, кто боится начинать новый бизнес всегда находят одни и те же отговорки:
- большие налоги,
- дорогая рабочая сила,
- высокая конкуренция,
- отсутствие возможностей, которые были раньше. И так происходит каждое десятилетие, с каждым новым поколением сомневающихся. И всегда есть те самые 3-4% людей, которые находят возможности и создают успешные компании на новых рынках.

▪️Успешные бизнесмены делятся на две большие группы: человек сделки или человек системы. Когда удаётся сочетать в себе эти два элемента, то получается выдающийся результат.

▪️Успех в бизнесе состоит из большого количества неосязаемых и тонких элементов. В них можно разобраться только во время занятия бизнесом. Поэтому книги не научат строить успешную компанию. Они только могут вдохновить на действия и помогут сделать это быстрее и с меньшим количеством ошибок.

▪️Собственник должен постоянно быть в гуще событий в своей компании, чтобы завоевать уважение и лояльность своих сотрудников.

▪️ «Я ещё никогда не встречал компанию причиной закрытия которой были высокие налоги.»)))

▪️ «На конкуренцию жалуются только слабаки, у которых нет воображения и энергии ей противостоять.»

▪️ «Бизнес - это всегда борьба - за продажи, за улучшения бизнес-модели, за эффективность. Остановиться нельзя.»

▪️ «Предприниматель по настоящему проявляет свой характер, когда попадает в сложную и кажущуюся безвыходной ситуацию. По тому, как они реагируют на такие сложности, предприниматели делятся на 5 типов:
1. Беспомощно сидят и смотрят, как тонет их бизнес.
2. Сдаются и не борются, потому что им страшно. Отличие от первой группы в том, что те не знают, что делать, а эти просто боятся делать что-либо.
3. Истерично реагируют, развивают бурную деятельность, ищут виноватых и считают, что в проблемах виноват кто угодно, кроме них самих.
4. Быстро реагируют на проблемы и решают их. Но потом останавливаются, восстановив статус-кво.
5. Не только решают текущие проблемы, но, использовав кризисные возможности, находят новые источники роста и прибыли. Они действуют как хорошие военные генералы. В войне чаще всего выигрывают полководцы, которые умеют не только хорошо защищаться, но и нападать.

Разница в 4 и 5 группах напомнила мне теории Нассима Талеба об антихрупкости. Когда от кризисов и проблем бизнес становится только сильнее.

ЧТО Я БУДУ ПРИМЕНЯТЬ:
Книга Гетти вошла в мой список ТОП-100 для регулярного перечитывания. Буду теперь перечитывать её каждый год-два.

ЕЩЕ НА ЭТУ ТЕМУ:
📗Felix Dennis “How to Get Rich”

[Tab Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent little book. It was recommended by David Senra. However, that is a tragedy. This should be much more known and far more highly regarded. Naturally, some essays are better than others. Part 1 and 2 are terrific and encompass 10 essays in total. Part 3 was the least interesting, but was just 3 essays. Section 4 on investments was introductory, but full of logic and wisdom and I couldn't find much fault. Overall many of Getty's worries, observations, and advice still ring true today making the overall book timeless. In fact, many of the lessons would serve to differentiate a young executive even more so today.

[Alan Temps · Rating 2 out of 5]

This guy was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple

That’s what I initially thought when I first started reading this book- incensed and outraged at how completely out of touch Getty was.

I was at the Getty museum and decided to pick up the book on a whim. After initially hating it, I decided to read the whole book before talking my shit on Goodreads to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Having now read the whole thing, it was one giant jerk fest. One long delusional and out of touch tirade about business and making it.

Advice from a billionaire: “don’t be so poor, you idiots!”

Getty’s father was a rich lawyer that put him through prestigious schools, taught him the oil industry, bankrolled his first deals, and then left him the equivalent of around $18 million in inheritance- and were supposed to believe that Getty is some self-made man to be admired and emulated? An embodiment of the American dream? What a joke. This book radicalized me lol.

The audacity that this white male in the 1930’s with daddy’s money somehow is a working-class American who made their dreams come true and wrote an entire book about how others can make it is a sick joke. It’s stomach-turning. So completely backwards to listen to a trust-fund-baby telling the working man how to make millions.

The irony wasn’t lost on me that Getty goes on for an entire chapter about how businessmen should be “independent” and not “corporate bootlickers” and yet plays into the right-wing fanboy fantasy of obsequious sycophants sucking up to men who seem to be in power like Elon Musk, David Goggins, Andrew Tate, etc (to name a few modern examples). Newsflash: Getty was a schoolboy bitch who played dress-up in the oil fields with his workers while he got to play with daddy’s money.

It’s not just comedically ironic, but cruel that a billionaire would publish a book called “How to Be Rich”, give no actual valuable tools or tips for the working-class reader, and just self-indulge in anecdotes and laudable platitudes for chapters on end.

I will say to his credit, his love of art is a great thing and his donations to museums are beneficial. And his chapter on the independent man, not going with the crowd but thinking for himself was a decent one. So I’ll give it two stars instead of one for that.

The title of the book is literally named: How to BE Rich. Not How to GET Rich. If you were born poor? Too bad, so sad.

[Dorum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will not teach you about how to get rich. Actually no book can. It can also be said that getting rich is largely a matter outside of our control. It depends more on circumstances, which some might also call "luck".

Nevertheless, being able to profit from luck, and acting upon opportunities, requires common sense. This virtue is also in short supply. It might even be said that it is in even shorter supply than luck.

J. P. Getty's book is full of common sense advice and biographical anecdotes. It can't be otherwise. However, unlike others I somewhat grew to like the guy, and his opinions. He is not a great writer, and he doesn't have earth shattering advice, but still, he is a guy who FIRST got rich and then wrote a book about How to be Rich. So he deserves some credit in that department (unlike the thousands of guys who write these books nowadays). Whatever practical advice he gives can be applied without any reserve. I don't think that this by itself will make you rich. At the very least it gives you a fighting chance, provided that Lady Luck smiles your way.

So despite its shortcomings I rated it at 3 stars.

[Alex Timberman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was inspired to read this book, and bought it, while at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California. What an impressive man he was, to leave behind such a beautiful house of valuable and rare art.

This book "How To Be Rich" goes into the mind of J. Paul Getty, as he tells his story. He talks about his family, his rise as a business titan, and on what he thinks an executive should be like. He also talks about his vision for America, which even though this book was written in the 60s, sounds very similar to what someone like Warren Buffet would say today. Interesting how a lot of good wisdom from the past is still relevant in the present.

Also, he has a few chapters on investing on Wall Street, Real Estate, and Art. It's in these few chapters where I can say the times have left him, as much of his advice does not seem relevant today. He ends with some notes on how to view money and on being a nonconformist, an individual - which was interesting - but not particularly moving. His style is conservative, and in that sense, not particularly unique.

In all, he was a great man who left behind a great legacy. He was a man of values and of strength. He built a great empire, and left behind a world of art for everyone to enjoy, and for free. Good book to read.

[Harry Harman · Rating 5 out of 5]

practically limitless capacity for hard work, and he also had an almost uncanny talent for finding oil

bargain-basement price

Many oilmen sneered openly at the idea that some "damned bookworm" could help them find oil. At best, the vast majority of oilmen were skeptical about geology as a practical science and put little stock in geologists' reports. I was among the few who believed in geology. I studied the subject avidly at every opportunity, and applied what I learned to my operations.

The directors called it "necessary caution." I viewed it as short-sighted and dangerous penny-pinching.

I could relax and enjoy a private last laugh at
the expense of those who had prophesied my ruin.

The door to the American Millionaire's Club is not locked.

I'm not crowing; I'm merely trying to show that there
are always opportunities through which businessmen can
profit handsomely if they will only recognize and seize
them—and if they will disregard the pessimistic auguries of
self-appointed prophets of doom.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't exactly what I expected, more of an insight into Getty's story and his attitude toward society and culture than anything else. It won't be of any practical value for anyone trying to become rich, but it's an entertaining read anyway. Getty was far more anti-conventional than I had realized. He lambasts conformists in every sphere, including business, art, and education, but of course at the time he wrote it he was well protected financially from the need to fit in.

One part of his story missing entirely, and maybe it's just missing from his life, is his relation to any intimate connection in terms of a spouse or children. In fact, while reading it I had the impression that he had never been married at all, sort of consumed by his business interests, but then learned he had had several wives and children. The absence of any mention of his close family members leaves the sad impression of someone unable to connect to people in meaningful ways.

[T.C. Wanyanwu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book written by one of American richest men of the 20th century.

J. P. Getty clearly warned that there are no absolutely safe or sure-fire formulas for achieving success or becoming a millionaire overnight. Nonetheless, he stipulated some fundamental rules from part 1 to 5, if followed, tip the odds for success.

No book on earth can teach you expressly HOW TO BE RICH including this one. But Luck, knowledge, hard work—especially hard work—is all a man needs to become a millionaire. Even the scriptures affirms in Ecclesiastes 9 vs 11 that the race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.

It's a 4 star book for me and definitely a must read for all.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was surprised how much I disliked this book. I'm a geologist, I like reading industrial history, and I love Mr. Getty's two California museums. I guess it was his evident arrogance and misanthropy, and how poorly he treated his five (!) wives and family -- the latter not covered in the first part of this memoir and business-advice book, to where I quit reading.

Getty was quoted as having said "A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure", and "I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success." For what that's worth.

So: caveat lector. Most readers liked the book a lot more than I did. I read it (or tried to) after a family member recommended it.

[Tiago Soares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lessons and Principles on How To Be Successful in Life.

This type of books written by no other than the rich people themselves never stop to amaze me with their wisdom and pieces of advice.

I have come across some horrific things said about him, but of course, always said by the media in the way they perceive things. When in fact you happen to also hear and read from the people themselves, you see that these people, most of the times are very aware of their less good traits; which most often than not, its a decision based on their primary values.

I only have taken away good things from this book, and as usual, it is not hard to find out how they end up so successful in life. Most likely, they followed what they here shared, and not only spoke about them.

[Jack Zerby · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's amazing about this book is that it's not about how to create wealth, but about what it takes to become someone who can handle wealth. He spends an entire chapter blasting the cog-like mentality of the working class, and how the entire educational system sets all of us up to be good employees, not innovators or entrepreneurs. He stresses over and over that money is not the end-all-be-all, and that the pursuit of happiness is empty, it's the pursuit of purpose.

[Marco · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the book due to the fact that the author was the richest man on earth and had decent ratings.
Unfortunately it's very basic and doesn't get into details on art, real estate, the stock market etc... Despite the fact that it's from the 60s.
His story, first chapter is ok. The part on management is not worth the time, you should read from some econ professors like Drucker instead.
Not worth the time imho.

[Allyson Novak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very interesting book however it is geared toward men so me reading it I felt like he thinks women can’t be millionaires.

[Library of · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jean Paul Getty was the industrialist who in the 1950s became the richest man in the world. The book was published in 1961 and is a biography and a “how to” guide for aspiring industrialists. Although Getty came from a well-to-do family, he was largely self-made.

OIL IN THE FAMILY. Getty was born in 1892 in Minnesota. At the age of ten, the family moved to Oklahoma, where the father entered the oil industry – an industry that would later dominate Getty’s life. During his studies at Oxford, Getty was called “Dictionary Getty” because he read so much. He spoke fluent French, German and Italian and later in life also learned Spanish, Greek, Arabic and Russian. During his life, Getty had five wives and a lawsuit about an illegitimate child. His promiscuous living led to a weak relationship with his Christian father who strongly disliked the promiscuous life.

THE 1910s: OIL BOOM & PENSION. When Getty returned to the United States from Oxford in 1914, as a 22-year-old, he received $10,000 from his father to expand the family’s oil interests in Oklahoma. The first investment was a hit and after only one year in business he could call himself a millionaire. He was then 23 years old and decided to retire. His father explained that Getty, with his capital, had a responsibility to develop the business that created jobs and better lives for the employees. After two years of vacation living, Getty got tired of the easy life and returned to work.

THE 1920-30s: DIVORCES & ACQUISITIONS. In the 1920s, Getty followed the oil rush to Los Angeles, increasing his net worth to $3m and churned through three marriages. The crisis of the 1930s hit Getty hard. However, he saw the possibilities in the crisis and had excess capital to make opportunistic investments. He took a large position in Pacific Western Oil and Mission, which consisted of Tidewater Oil and Skelly Oil. At the time of investment, Pacific Western’s share price was down 99% since the boom times of the late 1920s. He also bought The Pierre Hotel in Manhattan for $2.4m, a quarter of the construction cost 8 years earlier.

THE 1940s: A HOMERUN IN THE MIDDLE EAST. In 1949, Getty paid $9.5m for a 60-year concession in an area near the Saudi-Kuwait border. No oil had ever been discovered there. It took four years of work and $30m in investments to find oil. But as of 1953, the investment produced 16 million barrels of oil per year, which greatly contributed to making Getty one of the richest in the world. During this time he learned Arabic which enabled further expansion in the Middle East.

MANOR LIFE & GETTY OIL. In the 1950s, Getty moved to England and became a strong admirer of the country, its people and its culture. He bought the 72-room mansion Sutton Place, located 50 kilometers southwest of London. From there he ruled his empire, often working 16 hours a day. He also wrote several books and aggressively bought art that would eventually be displayed in the giant J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. In 1967, Pacific Western Oil and Mission Corp merged to form Getty Oil.

A STINGY MAN. In 1973, Getty’s grandson John Paul Getty III was kidnapped by the Ndrangheta mafia who wanted $17m in ransom. Getty negotiated with the kidnappers and eventually paid $2.9m – as much as was tax deductible. Another example of stinginess is that he installed a coin-operated telephone in Sutton Place. Guests had previously used the manor’s telephones for international calls which irritated Getty immensely. He said that almost all companies had redundant costs that could be relatively easily cut off – something he also did successfully in the businesses he took over.

THE GETTY NAME LIVES ON. Getty died in 1976 at the age of 84. He was then worth six billion dollars, equivalent to about $26 billion in today’s money value [2020]. After his death the shares in Getty Oil were distributed within the family. Over the years, assets have been sold off and today only the naming rights to the company remains, controlled by an Austrian company. However, the name Getty lives on in Getty Images, which was founded by his grandson Mark Getty. The company owns one of the world’s largest image banks and is again controlled, after a few tours on the stock exchange and at PE companies, by the Getty family.

PRODUCTIVITY & KNOWLEDGE. According to Getty, a company’s central goal is to constantly strive to produce more and better products, to more customers, and at a lower cost. What the Getty companies had in common was that they were constantly striving for expansion. It was also of great importance that his employed managers were experts in their industries and had a clear picture of all players’ positions, strengths and weaknesses.

MEET ADVERSITY WITH JOY. In his youth, Getty met an industrialist whose company had major problems – yet he seemed to be in very good spirits. The industrialist said that he was not the least bit worried about the situation and that in the name of honesty he needed this. Things had long been too comfortable – this got him on his toes again. Getty embraced this and felt that a businessman is in need of solving big problems from time to time. It is a good test that you go through stronger.

[Victor Carlsén · Rating 5 out of 5]

”I gave no orders or instructions without explanation, meticulously avoided meddling or nit-picking, but was always ready to lend a hand on even the messiest and most difficult tasks whenever a hand was needed.
Within a remarkably short time, my men were acknowl- edging that, although I was a tenderfoot, I was not a total ignoramus and, in fact, apparently possessed a fair amount of knowledge about the oil business in general and drilling operations in particular. We rapidly developed a strong degree of mutual respect, and work on the drilling site progressed quickly and efficiently.”

”I think my industrialist friend's definition of management might be stated in another way, namely that the primary function of management is to obtain results through people. Consequently, sound management psychology will motivate, direct, encourage and, in those exceptional instances where management is in the hands of exceptional individuals, inspire people so they will achieve the results that make possible the attainment of given objectives.”

”it doesn't make much difference how much other knowledge or experience an executive possesses; if he is unable to achieve results through people, he is worthless as an executive. ”

”The straightforward approach backed by facts worked—just as it has in most similar situations I've encountered during my years as a businessman and employer.
The incident is illustrative of my over-all experience, in that I've usually found that organized labor is fundamentally fair—but that it wants to know the facts. And, when I say facts, I mean precisely that. I do not mean tailored versions, half-truths or vague platitudes. ”

”Workers and union officials are not ignoramuses. They are perfectly capable of recognizing attempts to mislead or misinform them—and, like anyone else, they are quite likely to resent and rebel against such treatment. On the other hand, once they are given the unvarnished facts, the representatives of honest labor unions are generally cooperative to the maximum extent consistent with their legitimate aims and their responsibilities toward their members. ”

”True, there are limits—set by such factors as production and profits—beyond which it is impossible for management to reduce hours and increase wages. It is management's re- sponsibility to convince labor of this, to define the limits clearly and furnish irrefutable facts to prove its case. I'll agree that in this sense, management does have to engage in give-and-take skirmishing with organized labor—but this is a matter of reasoned argument, not class war. ”

”My years in those oil fields taught me that the men who actually do the work are most certainly entitled to decent wages and working conditions and their employers' respect. I also learned that nothing inspires worker loyalty or builds worker morale more swiftly than an employer's recognition of his employees' importance and his sincere interest in their well-being. ”

"Adversity is the first path to truth," Lord Byron said more than a hundred years ago.
"Calamity is man's true touchstone," Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher wrote in the early 17th Century. ”

”Confronted by the perverse imp of the impossible, the veteran businessman organizes his thinking and examines all aspects of the situation with meticulous objectivity. He does this by asking himself a series of questions, the most important of which follow:
What—precisely and in detail—is the situation, proposi- tion or issue under consideration?
What is at stake—what are the costs, what are the mini- mum and maximum the company stands to gain and lose?
Are there any precedents and, if so, can they be con- sidered valid and applicable in this instance?
What do other parties—buyers or sellers, brokers, com- petitors, customers, etc.—stand to gain or lose either way?
What are the known obstacles and difficulties the com- pany faces if it goes ahead—and precisely how can they be overcome?
What other difficulties are likely to arise—and if they do, what resources are available and what steps may be taken to cope with them?
Are all the facts known—could there be any additional, hidden pitfalls?
How long will it take to accomplish the objectives or goals in question if it is decided to proceed?
Would the company stand to gain more by devoting equal time and effort to something else?
Are the personnel who would be responsible for handling the matter fully qualified and dependable?
Once he has the answers to these questions, the businessman weighs them in the balance to determine whether the undertaking is possible or impossible. If the scales tip heavily in one direction or another, his choice is not hard to make. If, on the other hand, the plus and minus factors tend to balance, then he must use his judgment, sense of proportion— and even his business intuition—to decide. ”

”I am not a reformer, crusader, social philosopher, political or economic theorist. I do, however, consider myself enough of a realist to appreciate that this is not—and never has been and never will be—the best of all possible worlds. The concept that any status quo is perfect and permanent, that one must under no circumstances raise questions, voice doubts or seek improvements can only produce complacency, then stagnation and finally collapse. It does no good to pretend there is never anything wrong anywhere, for there is always something—be it big or little—wrong everywhere. Individuals and civilizations can only strive for perfection. It is highly unlikely that they will ever achieve it. ”

”Very often it remains for the dissenter to point out that which is wrong. He is a skeptic who doubts, questions and probes—and hence is more likely to recognize lacks, weak- nesses and abuses than are his complacent neighbors. The dissenter is also more alert and sensitive to the winds of impending change. He is thus frequently a prophet of the inevitable, who cries for action or change while there is yet time to take action and make changes voluntarily. ”

”But even if the dissenter is a false prophet and cries of perils or problems which do not really exist, he still per- forms an important and valuable service to society. He adds spice, spirit and an invigorating quality to life. He may create naught but controversy, but if he is allowed to speak, is heard and answered, he has served to stir the imaginations of others. ”

”History shows that civilizations live longest through their artistic and cultural achievements. We have forgotten the battles fought and the wars won by ancient civilizations, but we marvel at their architecture, art, painting, poetry and music. The greatness of nations and peoples is in their culture, not in their conquests. Themistocles is given only a line or two in most history books. Aristophanes, Aeschylus, Phidias, Socrates—all of whom lived in the same Century as Themistocles—are immortals. The edicts and decrees of the Caesars are largely forgotten. The poetry of Horace and Virgil lives on forever. The names of the Medicis, Sforzas and Viscontis gain their greatest luster from the patronage these noble families gave to Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and other unforgettable artists. What are Gneisenau and Scharnhorst in comparison to their countrymen and contemporaries: Beethoven, Schubert, Goethe and Heine? Surely, the moral should be obvious even to the most stubborn of culture shurners among today's Educated Barbarians. ”

”Far from emasculating or effeminizing a man, a cultural interest serves to make him more completely male as well as a more complete human being. It stimulates and vitalizes him as an individual—and sharpens his tastes, sensibilities and sensitivity for and to all things in life. The cultured man is almost invariably a self-assured, urbane and completely confident male. He recognizes, appreciates and enjoys the subtler shadings and nuances to be found in the intellectual, emotional and even physical spheres of human existence—and in the relationships between human beings. Be it in a board room or a bedroom, he is much better equipped to play his masculine role than is the heavy-handed and maladroit educated barbarian. ”

”Today, the inherent nature of government in an increasingly complex civilization creates strong pressures toward systemization and standardization, which, in turn, serves to create vast bureaucratic complexes. In government (as in overgrown big-business corporations that have assumed government-style managerial practices) the attempt to establish rigid procedures for the most minute activities tends to guarantee imposition of a structured conformity. Needless to say, all this proves espe- cially appealing to the type of job seeker and job holder who is bereft of courage and imagination and basks like some somnolent embryo in the amniotic comfort of a completely regulated life. ”

”Culture is like a fine wine that one drinks in the company of a beautiful woman. It should be sipped and savored—never gulped. ”

”With government setting the example, it is little wonder that many of the nation's citizens anticipate the seemingly inevitable and hasten to conform to standardized patterns. Business firms that establish their own bureaucracies and individuals who strive to be conformists are merely floating with the tide that is carrying our society toward final, top- to-bottom "structurization." There are abundant indications that this is in the offing, that the civilization that produced homogenized milk will soon produce the homogenized man. ”

”It all promises to be rather boring. Whatever else the structured society may or may not offer, it definitely will not offer the individual adventure or inspiration—and precious little challenge. He will plod slowly along in the groove provided him, knowing full well exactly what to expect at every step. ”

”Many businessmen who complain most about government's bureaucratic meddling are lost in bureaucratic labyrinths of their own making. Far too many wallow in organizational charts, administrative directives and quintuplicated memoranda, worrying more about doing their paperwork than about doing business. ”

”There is, however, hope for any person who wants to remain an individual. He can assert himself and refuse to conform. He'll be on his own, that's true, but while he will not have the security enjoyed by those who do conform, there will be no limits to what he may achieve. ”

"Collecting is for learning about the human being and the way he feels and expresses himself, and about the material he uses to express himself and the way he uses the material."
I find nothing exceptionable in these opinions, but my own views go a step or two further. Like most serious collectors, I by no means consider the works of art I own as inanimate ornamental possessions. To me, they are vital embodiments of their creators. They mirror the hopes and frustrations of those who created them—and the times and places in which they were created. Although the artists may be long dead, and even the civilizations in which they worked long since disintegrated, their art lives on.

”He'll conform to petty, arbitrary codes and conventions, desperately trying to prove himself stable and reliable—but he will only demonstrate that he is unimaginative, unenterprising and mediocre. The success and wealth for which men such as this yearn will always elude them. They will remain minor executives, shuffled and shunted from one corporate pigeonhole to another, throughout their entire business careers. ”

”The truly successful businessman is essentially a dissenter, a rebel who is seldom if ever satisfied with the status quo. He creates his success and wealth by constantly seeking— and often finding—new and better ways to do and make things. ”

”In business, the mystique of conformity is sapping the dynamic individualism that is the most priceless quality an executive or businessman can possibly possess. It has produced the lifeless, cardboard-cutout figure of the organization man who tries vainly to hide his fears, lack of confidence and incompetence behind the stylized facades of conformity. ”

”the conformist is not born. He is made. I believe the brainwashing process begins in the schools and colleges. Many teachers and professors seem hell-bent on imbuing their students with a desire to achieve "security" above all—and at all costs. Beyond this, high school and university curricula are frequently designed to turn out nothing but "specialists" with circumscribed knowledge and interests. The theory seems to be that accountants should only be accountants, traffic managers should only be traffic managers, and so on ad nauseam. There doesn't appear to be much effort made to produce young men who have a grasp of the over-all business picture and who will assume the responsibilities of leadership. Countless otherwise intelligent young men leave the universities where they have received overspecialized educations and then disappear into one of the administrative rabbit warrens of our over organized corporations. ”

”Heaven help the man who dares to be different in thought or action. Any deviation from the mediocre norm, he is told, will brand him a Bohemian or a Bolshevik, a crank or a crackpot—a man who is unpredictable and thus unreliable. ”

”It is easy to see how this man judges values. I strongly suspect that it is also a safe bet that whatever he has done in life, his motives were always just as shallow and trivial as his purely status-seeking reasons for wanting to buy paintings. Unfortunately, there are many people like him. In my opinion, it would be difficult to find justification for their wealth; I do not believe they really earn—or, for that matter, deserve—their money. ”

”I do not measure my success in terms of dollars and cents. I measure it in terms of the jobs and the productivity my labors and my wealth—invested and reinvested as capital in my various business enterprises—have made possible. I doubt very seriously if I could have reached anywhere near the level of success that I have reached if I'd employed any other yardsticks to gauge my progress during my career. ”

”consider it one of the major tragedies of our civilization that people have come to regard it virtually mandatory to imitate in order to win the social acceptance of their fellows. The end result of this can only be to reduce even the most brilliant individuals to a sterile cipher. ”

”At the meeting, I proposed a wholly impractical and ruinous scheme which, if implemented, would have quickly bankrupted the firm.
Of the nine executives present, six instantly expressed their approval of my "plans." Three of these men went to the extreme of modestly hinting that they'd been "thinking along similar lines"—something I could well believe from having studied the firm's profit-and-loss statements. Two very junior executives remained glumly and disapprovingly silent. Only one man in the group had the temerity to stand up and point out the flaws in my proposal.
Needless to say, the company soon had some new faces in its executive offices. The three dissidents remained; all are still associated with my companies and, I might add, are now in the upper income brackets. ”

”It has always been my contention that an individual who can be relied upon to be himself and to be honest unto himself can be relied upon in every other way. He places value—not a price—on himself and his principles. And that, in the final analysis, is the measure of anyone's sense of values—and of the true worth of any man. ”

[Thang Nguyen]

No one's fortune can be an end worthy of his being." He loved the challenge of business, but the incentive was not to pile up money, but rather to accomplish something lasting.

1. Almost without exception, there’s only one way to make a great deal of money in the business world - and that is in one’s own business. Can’t know everything there is to know from the beginning but should not start until acquire a good, solid working knowledge of the business.
2. Never lose sigh of the central aim - to produce more and better goods or provide more and better service to more people at lower cost.
3. A sense of thrift is essential for success in business. Business man must discipline to practice economy wherever possible, in his personal life as well as his business affair. “Make your money first-then think about spending it”
4. Legitimate opportunities for expansion should never be overlooked. But on guard against over expansion without sufficient planning. Forced growth can be fatal.
5. Must run his business, cannot expect employees to think or do as well as he can. If they could they would not be his employees. When delegating, must maintain close and constant supervision
6. Must be constantly alert for new ways to improve product/service and increase production and sales. Should use prosperous periods to find ways by which techniques may be improved and cost lowered - in booming economies the business man has the metal elbow room to examine his operations calmly and objectively and thus effect important savings without sacrificing quality or efficiency.
7. Willing to risk own capital, borrowed money, and his credit when the risks are justified. But borrowed money must always be promptly repaid. Nothing will write finis to a career faster than a bad credit rating
8. Nothing build confidence and volume faster or better than a reputation for standing behind one’s work or products. Guarantee should always be honored- and in doubtful cases, the decision should always be in the customer’s favor.
9. No matter how many millions an individual amasses, if he is in business he must always consider his wealth as a mean for improving living conditions everywhere. He who has responsibilities toward society, employees, stockholders, and the public

At least 30 to 40 percent of so-called economic suicides occur when a man is successful, not when he is failing. When a man has achieved the peak of success, often he has nothing left to scramble for.

Far from emasculating or effeminizing a man, a cultural interest serves to make him more completely male as well as a more complete human being. It stimulates and vitalizes him as an individual - and sharpens his tastes, sensibilities, and sensitivity for and to all things in life.

Then, whenever the individual is confronted with the necessity of making a choice - be it in voting, choosing a career or a job, buying something, or whatever - the question of whether he wants (or thinks he wants) to do this or that should not be the only consideration governing the choice. The individual must also ask himself whether the choice will circumscribe his life or make him more susceptible to the forces in our society that tend to standardize people.

1. What is the company's history: Is it a solid and reputable firm, and does it have able, efficient and seasoned management?
2. Is the company producing or dealing in goods or services for which there will be a continuing demand in the foreseeable future?
3. Is the company in the field that is not dangerously over-crowded, and is it in a competitive position?
4. Are the company's policies and operations farsighted and aggressive without calling for unjustified and dangerous over-expansion?
5. will the corporate balance sheet stand up under the close scrutiny of a critical and impartial auditor?
6. Does the corporation have a satisfactory earnings record?
7. Have reasonable dividends been paid to stockholders? If dividend payments were missed, were there good and sufficient reasons?
8. Is the company well within safe limits insofar as both long and short-term borrowing are concerned?
9. Has the price of the stock moved up and down over the past few years without violently wide and apparently inexplicable fluctuations?
10. Does the per-share value of the company's net realizable assets exceed the stock exchange value of a common stock share at the time the investor contemplates buying?

[Everett Randle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silly title, but awesome story and lessons that stand the test of time 70 years later, very good

[Henrik Haapala · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Luck, knowledge, hard work - especially hard work - a man needs them all to become a millionaire. But, above all, he needs what can be called ‘the millionaire mentality’: that vitally aware state of mind which harnesses all of an individuals skills and intelligence to the tasks and goals of his business.” 37

“The man who wants to go into business for himself should choose a field which he knows and understands.”

“A sense of thrift is essential for success in business.”

“The door to the American Millonaires club is not locked. Contrary to popular belief, it is still quite possible for the successful individual to make his million - and more. There will always be room for the man with energy and imagination, the man who can successfully implement new ideas into new products and services.”

Central aim: to produce more and better goods or provide more and better services to more people at lower cost.

[Cristobal · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, which should be read with a grain of salt as it is full of common sense advise on how to lead your life but is a bit held back by the reality of JP Getty's life and legacy.

[Ocean G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some quotes:

"many a man who is supposed to have, say, ten years' experience has really had only one years' experience repeated ten times over."

"True, the cost of retiring these people and of paying them pensions years before they were due to receive them is very high. But we have found that the cost is significantly less than the cost of keeping them on our payrolls, where they not only draw full pay, but cause more harm than good, producing losses instead of profits"

"I'd rather try to make a good technician out of a good executive who has no technical knowledge than try to make a good executive out of a good technician who has no executive ability".

Some drivel and a lot of self-congratulations, but more useful information than not. Also surprisingly relevant. 3.5 stars.

[Dimas Sánchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro con una edición muy pobre y en tamaño pequeño, que, desde luego, no invita demasiado a leerlo (sobre todo para los clásicos que nos gustan los libros de tapa dura).

Pero el contenido, una joya. Está escrito por una persona que amasó una fortuna y que, además, no es escritor (es su único libro; de hecho, no es un libro, es una compilación de artículos que redactó para revistas). ¿Por qué digo esto? Porque la gente que no se dedica a escribir como profesión (sobre todo en el ámbito de las finanzas) suele querer transmitir con mayor vehemencia y tiene mayor interés en explicar lo que sabe y lo que ha aprendido, más que en vender, aunque su prosa no sea perfecta.

Está lleno de ejemplos prácticos que, bien interpretados, son aplicables hoy en día.

[Jonathan Crabb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting book which was a series of essays written by Getty for Playboy magazine in the 60s. The book is largely a series of anecdotes on how Getty made his fortune (largely oil exploration) and what he sees are the important parts of being a businessman. This was the majority of the book and was a decent set of precepts for budding executives to be or business owners to be. His advice on different parts of being wealthy large fell flat to me with tired or very upper crust advice (real estate and art ownership for example), but there were two notable exceptions. The essays “The imp of the impossible” and “The Educated Barbarians” were both highly insightful and as applicable today as it was back in the 60s. The essays alone are worth reading through the book.

[Isaac Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly good book. If Getty did have someone ghost write this for him I hope he paid the writer well as the book is rather good. I felt I had a very wrong idea of Getty before reading this book. He comes off as quite a pragmatist who valued hard work and creativity. The book offers good insights in to his early years (inheriting considerable wealth, being a member of the idle rich and then deciding to do something with his life). Very enjoyable short and sweet. Surprisingly good precepts for what is quite an old book.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone who aims to achieve any level of success in business should read this book.

The richest man in the world at the time took many hours to create a condensed version of the wisdom that it took him a lifetime to collect.

As the title states, it is not a how-to on getting rich. It is a how-to on progressing the right way and giving back to society without losing your own individuality in the process.

[Heather Denigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getty's advice is pretty sound--he covers running a business, hiring personnel, showing leadership in the work place, the stock market, real estate, collecting fine art, and being an individual; however, he sounds smug in handing down his knowledge. In the end, his stories are fun, I agree with him on most things, but he can be insufferable.