J. Paul Getty Trust
J. Paul Getty Trust logo designed by Saul Bass in 1993
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| Founded | 1982 |
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| Founder | J. Paul Getty |
| Focus | "Aims to further knowledge and nurture critical seeing through the growth and presentation of its collections and by advancing the understanding and preservation of the world's artistic heritage." |
| Location |
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| Method | Grants, Research |
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Key people
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James Cuno, President and CEO |
| Endowment | $6.7 billion |
| Website | www.getty.edu |
The J. Paul Getty Trust is the world's wealthiest art institution with an estimated endowment in 2011 of $US 5.6 billion. Based in Los Angeles, California, it operates the J. Paul Getty Museum, which has two locations, the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades district of Los Angeles, California. Its other programs are the Getty Foundation, the Getty Research Institute, and the Getty Conservation Institute.
With an estimated 1.6 million visitors per year, the trust operates one of the most visited museums in the United States. The trust also provides grants and training to other museums and cultural institutions. The trust has a library, publications program and visiting scholar program. The trust's conservation program is dedicated to advancing conservation practice through the creation and delivery of knowledge. However, since 2008, the trust has scaled back the scope of its activities in response to financial challenges.
The J. Paul Getty Museum Trust was established by oilman J. Paul Getty in 1953. Getty founded the Getty Oil Company, and in 1957 Fortune magazine named him the richest living American. At his death, he was worth more than $2 billion. Getty died in 1976 and left the bulk of his estate, including nearly $660 million worth of stock in Getty Oil, to the J. Paul Getty Museum Trust. Legal conflicts over the will took years to resolve, but in 1982 the trust finally received Getty's full bequest. The trust began to add a number of new programs in 1982, and in February 1983, it petitioned the court to change its name to the J. Paul Getty Trust.
In 1997 Barry Munitz was named the president and CEO of the trust. He began work in January 1998, succeeding Harold M. Williams, the first president of the Getty Trust, who oversaw construction of the $1 billion Getty Center designed by architect Richard Meier. With an endowment of $4.2 billion, the Getty Trust is the wealthiest art institution in the world. Early in his tenure, Munitz reorganized the Getty Trust, closing two of the institution's six programs—the Getty Information Institute and the Getty Education Institute. To deal with long-run financial issues, he sought to cultivate relationships with donors and corporate partners. His leadership became increasingly controversial as the Getty Trust was embroiled in numerous controversies relating to the provenance of various antiquities in the Getty Museum's collections and Munitz' expense account. In the midst of an investigation by the California Attorney General, Munitz resigned in 2006 and was forced to "forgo his severance package of more than $2 million, and reimburse the Getty Trust for $250,000 after alleged improprieties including lavish expense account spending."
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