Reaction
The New York Times cited an earlier article published in its Magazine section that listed the wealthiest men in the world as King Saud (Saudi Arabia), the Sheik of Kuwait, the Sheik of Qatar, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and American H. L. Hunt; at odds with the Fortune list's description of J. Paul Getty as the richest American.
Getty, asked his reaction and whether he was really worth a billion dollars, said "You know, if you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars" and then famously added, "But remember, a billion dollars isn't worth what it used to be."
Some felt that the list was incorrect by virtue of their omission; among those that were included, some felt the amount of their fortune had been misstated. An article the next year in The New York Times by Cleveland Amory mentioned that after publication of the list, one hitherto anonymous oil man, Tulsa's James A. Chapman, was particularly indignant. "I don't like my name in print at all, but when I do, I like it accurate. Why I could buy and sell that Paul Getty." Arthur Vining Davis, who was then 91 and had the ambition to become a billionaire, contacted the Fortune editor directly. "Young man, if I had $20 and owed $18, would you estimate that I was worth $20 or $2?"
Read more about this topic: Wealthiest Americans (1957)
Famous quotes containing the word reaction:
“In a land which is fully settled, most men must accept their local environment or try to change it by political means; only the exceptionally gifted or adventurous can leave to seek his fortune elsewhere. In America, on the other hand, to move on and make a fresh start somewhere else is still the normal reaction to dissatisfaction and failure.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“Sole and self-commanded works,
Fears not undermining days,
Grows by decays,
And, by the famous might that lurks
In reaction and recoil,
Makes flames to freeze, and ice to boil.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Children, randomly at first, hit upon something sooner or later that is their mother’s and/or father’s Achilles’ heel, a kind of behavior that especially upsets, offends, irritates or embarrasses them. One parent dislikes name-calling, another teasing...another bathroom jokes. For the parents, this behavior my have ties back to their childhood, many have been something not allowed, forbidden, and when it appears in the child, it causes high-voltage reaction in the parent.”
—Ellen Galinsky (20th century)