J. Paul Getty (1892-1976) was a shrewd industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942, ultimately becoming a dominant player in the oil industry. In The Great Getty, Robert Lenzner presents an in-depth biography of the savviest entrepreneur of the 20th century and the world's richest private citizen at the time of his death— worth $6 billion, the equivalent of more than $27 billion in today' s money. As Lenzner chronicles Getty's life— through interviews with those closest to him— a picture emerges of a frugal man, a truly miserly art collector, and a notorious womanizer, but also a puritan and philanthropist— and perhaps a Nazi spy.