Customer Reviews

How to be rich

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is not a book about how to get rich. As its title implies, it is a book about how to be rich. Accordingly, much of Getty's advice is directed toward the development of a particular state of mind rather than detailing a formula for monetary acquisition. Although Getty earned the basis of his mega-fortune as a wildcatter in the oilfields of California, Texas and Oklahoma, he was a highly-educated man. Following graduation from college in California, he attended Oxford University, earning a graduate degree there. Only after his return from England did he plunge into the enterprise of oil exploration and drilling that paid off so handsomely. Thus, Getty's book is not the one-dimensional tract so commonly written today by lesser intellects. He discusses what it means to be rich -- the attitudes, the appreciation for the cultural heritage of classical music, literature and art (The Getty museum in California, based on his original collections, is one of the largest repositories of fine art in the world today). He discusses how an individual's outlook and attitudes constitute a virtual program for either success or failure. Then he provides the intellectual tools for changing self-limiting habits and developing productive and beneficial ones. He provides practical advice and an expert evaluation of the various forms of investment. In recent years, we have seen sports figures, entertainers and lawsuit winners squander their fortunes. On the other hand, we have seen immigrants like those who escaped Castro's Cuba with nothing but their lives -- their entire life's work stolen by the communist thugs -- only to earn a second fortune in the US. Why is this? Because, having been rich, they knew how to be rich -- they had programmed themselves to be rich. Getty's book goes a long way toward imparting that information to its readers. Once in possession of Getty's guidance, however, the hard work of implementing it still lies ahead, but his book is a literary roadmap to success without peer.

Getty brilliantly and boldly shares the attitude, ethics, backbone and independent thinking that was the key to his prosperity. Don't look merely for 'how-to-make-more-money' tips: this book transcends that. If you're looking for honest, direct insight on how to 'be' successful in any business day or age, Getty is the man!

A lot of books tell you how to be rich, but they rarely work. This book is truthful and written by a man who in todays dollars would be richer than Bill Gates and Warren Buffett combined. This is the best book I have ever bought on finance. Getty doesn't cut corners on his advice. Best of all this book makes a lot of sense, and doesn't sugar coat the truth. This is something that cannot be said for many books.

J. Paul Getty lays a clear map for guiding yourself to richness. Early on, Getty asserts that being "rich" is not a number, but truly a state of mind. In his view, there is no magic potion, mantra or affirmation that will garner you more goodies. If you want money, get out and work for it. If you want to be rich you must work for yourself. And once you hire people, even though you bear all responsibility for what happens, encourage your competent employees to think and act as if they are running their own company.

Getty got rich because he understood the fundamentals of economics, thanks to his parents. Getty reasoned that the whole point of economic growth is to enhance your own life, as well as the lives of those around you.

Wealth and wealth seeking is made to seem loathsome in some altruistic circles. Yet, within the pages of "How To Be Rich", you find a man who consistently laid his ego aside and sweated alongside oil-workers. As his standard of living rose, so did that standard of living of numerous other people around him.

It may appear as if Getty encourages trickle-down economics. Getty worked fast and hard so as to turn any trickle into a gushing spring. If things didn't go his way, Getty maintained a "calm", and thus more productive demeanor, and found solutions. He admits to his screw-ups and delineates characteristics that promote success. In short, Getty delivers a worthwhile read for any aspiring person.

This is a great book. Getty is the consumate businessman, but in this book he doesn't discuss the lessons of being rich, he discusses the refinement. The bottom line is that richness is how you act and what your goals are. Everyday is an opportunity to "be rich" take advantage of it.

Self-made billionaire Paul Getty was once credited with being the richest man in the world, and here he presents some of his philosophies on life. The book is not titled "how to become rich" since that isn't its focus, and contains Getty's advice about the sort of person you should be, if you are rich or to be rich. Intelligently written, it presents the gritty reality of Getty's accomplishments, and the good and bad sides of being successful in business. Although targeted mainly at the novice in business, it has wide appeal, and in separate chapters also covers Getty's opinions on investing in stocks, real estate, and fine art.

How To Be Rich surprised me in many ways. J. Paul Getty offers a lot of advice to executives rising through the ranks and those looking to. There's plenty of very entertaining historical coverage of Getty's rise to legendary status starting with the first chapter, How I Made My First Billion, along with other first-hand accounts and stories of his colleges from the era interspersed throughout the book. The book's focus is on how "to be" rich, i.e. the responsibilities thereof, rather than how "to become" rich. Of course, in Getty's case he simply took the skills he learned from working with his father, went out on his own to drill a few holes in the ground, and started pumping oil. There are also chapters regarding investing on Wall Street, in real estate, and in fine art, the later being a particularly interesting chapter. The chapter Art of Individuality is a must-read for anyone who is utterly depressed by the total lack of creativity in today's corporate cubicle conformist culture.

History has not been kind to this man. Perhaps it is because he was interpreted as being a "penny pincher" or maybe because he was a friend and admirer of Adolf Hitler. Whatever the reason, even though he was at one time the world's richest man, his triumph seems to have faded into the books. This book is one of them.

If I had to pick a favorite book written by a successful businessman, this has to be it. Does it tell you how to become a billionaire? No. What it does teach you is how to succeed, not only financially, but as a person.

It explores the creation of his own wealth, as well as valuable lessons from the construction of his vast oil empire. Also, it covers the things that are greater than wealth, such as health, charity, and personality. Towards the end, it also becomes a sort of social commentary, on man's degradation of morality and kindess, on the disappearance of art and classical music from the mainstream, and on his general dissatisfaction with similar affairs at that time.

It would be difficult to write a thorough review as to why you need to buy this book, because it is so unlike what you have read before. But take my word for it: you will be a better person for reading this book. It may not make you rich, but it will make you wealthy.

Instead of buying a book from someone that got rich by writing and selling self-help books, why not reading this classical? Paul Getty got millionarie when he was 26 and in the end of the 1950's he got the title of the "richest man in America" and then "the richest man in the world". In this book he presents us many thoughs that are up-to-date even today, almost 40 years after this book was originally written. A must-have if you are a wealth-seeker.

This is one of the best books on business and finance I've ever read. As stated before, the book does not tell you how to become rich. It tells you how to be. The impression one gets of Mr. Getty is a highhly intelligent, liberal thinker. He shatters the myth that is so often portrayed; that the rich are selfish, overly conservative people who care nothing for society around them. While this may be true of some, it is not true of all. Mr. Getty discusses a way of being, a philosophy that is both tough and humanistic. He shatters many other myths as well. He points out that becoming wealthy is not a result of knowing things others don't, or cheating innocents, but instead entails hard work, persistance, patience, common sense, and risk. This is a must read for anyone with aspirations of becoming successful in the business world. Well worth the paltry sum it costs.