J.P. Getty and family -- enviably wealthy or tarnished and bedeviled by wealth? Who knew that Getty was such a disturbed character and just what trouble having money could bring to one lucky (or wealthily unlucky) family.

If ever there were a case to be made for the old adage that money can’t buy happiness, this sorry tale of the extended Getty family would be it. An exploration of Jean Paul Getty himself from his origins to his many heirs, it’s a sorry tale of a dysfunctional family par excellence. Getty himself remains ultimately unknowable and I never felt I gained any insight into his inner being – perhaps he didn’t have one but was merely a man of straw with a knack of making more and more money. It’s a really sad and depressing story. What a miserable lot they all were and are. The effect of money on this family was catastrophic and far-reaching and I saw little signs of redemption even in the younger generation. A fascinating, if disturbing, examination of the getting and spending of vast wealth.

Painfully Rich is an interesting read, especially for someone, like me, who knew very little about the Getty family. The writing really shines during the tragic parts of the family history. At times it seems to revel in the misery. Some may be put off by that. To me, the book fingers the elder Getty's familial failings and inability to connect emotionally rather than money as the source of intergenerational misery. Although great wealth certainly complicates things.

Of course, there are redeeming factors as younger members of the family seem to have pulled away from the darker side of their history.

Overall, the reading was engaging and I know about as much as I care to know about the Getty family. That's about all I ask of this kind of book.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback.
#PainfullyRich #NetGalley

Read this book about mega millionaire J. Paul Getty to understand how wealth corrupts and how we got to our present money rules all political landscape. Fascinating character study and story or how wealth has corrupted our society.

Crazy interesting. Great read if you like biographies.

A reissue of the 1995 biography (updated with new and sad news from the grandchildren) of J. Paul Getty to coincide with a biopic, this is a study, like the biography of the Vanderbilts and Biltmore, of how even with obscene amounts of money, generations of a family collapse in on themselves. J. Paul's parents, the teetotaling and straight laced founders of a midwest insurance company who got lucky in oil, couldn't understand his made-for-the-roaring 20s superficial charm and desire for fast company, while he spent his life chasing teenage brides and losing interest in them as soon as they were married. The children, variously ignored, disinherited or bullied, and definitely left out of being trained for the business, lapsed into thrill-seeking behavior that, unlike their progenitor's, didn't yield millions of dollars. Pearson is an old hand at dynastic biographies and offers a three generation look at how money corrupts, but it also buys a lot of California real estate and grey market artwork. I had forgotten that Claus von Bulow was another of Getty's gifts to the world as one of his executives.