J. Paul Getty started the J. Paul Getty Museum Trust in 1953. Getty had already started the Getty Oil Company, and he was richest Americans in the 1950's. He had more than $2 billion when he died. Getty died in 1976 He left most of his property, 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 all of the money that Getty. The trust began to add some new programs in 1982. In February 1983, it changed its name to the J. Paul Getty Trust.