
The Taking of Getty Oil
The Full Story of the Most Spectacular - and Catastrophic - Takeover of All
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Narrated by:
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Steven Cooper
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By:
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Steve Coll
About this listen
A true story of family, ambition, and greed in the most bitter and controversial takeover struggle in business history. The high-stakes fight between Texaco and Pennzoil to take over Getty Oil is a startling and intriguing case involving family infighting, courtroom drama, and corporate intrigue that ends in bankruptcy and the largest damages award in American history.
©1987, 1988 Steve Coll (P)2014 Audible Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Good stuff
- By Mr. M Metwally on 09-07-07
By: William D. Cohan
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The Big Rich
- The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes
- By: Bryan Burrough
- Narrated by: James Jenner
- Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Bryan Burrough reveals how four Texas oil tycoons transformed America. Rising from humble beginnings through hard work and shrewd dealings, they shifted the balance of power in American politics. While hobnobbing with movie stars and presidents, the Big Rich also created the legend of the swaggering Texas oilman with island hideaways and sprawling ranches.
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Big, Sordid, Fascinating, PoliticallyCorrect
- By Darkcoffee on 11-09-09
By: Bryan Burrough
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Wildcatters
- The True Story of How Conspiracy, Greed, and the IRS Almost Destroyed a Legendary Texas Oil Family
- By: Charles Moncrief
- Narrated by: Scott Pollak
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Wildcatters is the amazing story of greed, corruption, and scandal in the framing of one of the most famous oil families in Texas and the subsequent IRS raid of unprecedental proprtions. This book will confirm your suspicions of the IRS yet provides a glimmer of hope in our criminal justice system.
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Ft. Worth Wildcatter Family
- By Stephen M. Silverman on 06-29-24
By: Charles Moncrief
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A Colossal Failure of Common Sense
- The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers
- By: Patrick Robinson, Lawrence G. McDonald
- Narrated by: Erik Davies
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the biggest questions of the financial crisis has not been answered until now: What happened at Lehman Brothers and why was it allowed to fail, with aftershocks that rocked the global economy? In this news-making, often astonishing book, a former Lehman Brothers Vice President gives us the straight answers - right from the belly of the beast. In A Colossal Failure of Common Sense, Larry McDonald, a Wall Street insider, reveals, the culture and unspoken rules of the game like no book has ever done.
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First take: Tale of the narcissist
- By Susan Hayden on 07-28-09
By: Patrick Robinson, and others
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DisneyWar
- By: James B. Stewart
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 25 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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DisneyWar is an enthralling tale of one of America's most powerful media and entertainment companies, the people who control it, and those trying to overthrow them. It tells a story that - in its sudden twists, vivid, larger-than-life characters, and thrilling climax - might itself have been the subject of a Disney classic - except that it's all true.
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Really interesting story... No ending.
- By rotinaj on 12-18-17
By: James B. Stewart
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Default
- The Landmark Court Battle over Argentina's $100 Billion Debt Restructuring
- By: Gregory Makoff, Lee C. Buchheit - foreword
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Default is the riveting story of Argentina's sovereign debt drama, which reveals the obscure inner workings of sovereign debt restructuring. This detailed case study describes the intense fight over the role of the IMF in Argentina's 2005 debt restructuring and the ensuing bitter decade of litigation with holdout creditors, demonstrating that outcomes for sovereign debt are determined by a complex interplay between financial markets, governments, the IMF, the press, and the courts.
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Delivers on promise
- By Lukk on 06-28-24
By: Gregory Makoff, and others
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The Caesars Palace Coup
- How a Billionaire Brawl Over the Famous Casino Exposed the Power and Greed of Wall Street
- By: Max Frumes, Sujeet Indap
- Narrated by: Chris Kipiniak
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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It was the most brutal corporate restructuring in Wall Street history. The 2015 bankruptcy brawl for the storied casino giant, Caesars Entertainment, pitted brilliant and ruthless private equity legends against the world's most relentless hedge fund wizards.
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HORRIBLE UNREADABLE BOOK.
- By howard bascom on 07-12-21
By: Max Frumes, and others
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Conspiracy of Fools
- A True Story
- By: Kurt Eichenwald
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 30 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Say the name 'Enron' and most people believe they've heard all about the story that imperiled a presidency, destroyed a marketplace, and changed Washington and Wall Street forever. But in the hands of Kurt Eichenwald, the players we think we know and the business practices we think have been exposed are transformed into entirely new, and entirely gripping, material.
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Great Story
- By Adam M Pokorski on 06-06-06
By: Kurt Eichenwald
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The Fund
- Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend
- By: Rob Copeland
- Narrated by: Rob Copeland, Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Ray Dalio does not want you to listen to this audiobook. Late last year, when the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund on the planet, announced that he was stepping down from the company he started out of his apartment nearly 50 years ago, the news made headlines around the world. Dalio cultivated an aura of international admiration and fame thanks to his company’s eye-popping success, coupled with a mystique he encouraged with frequent media appearances, celebrity hobnobbing, and his bestselling book, Principles.
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Best finance book I've read in years
- By Aaron on 12-16-23
By: Rob Copeland
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Den of Thieves
- By: James B. Stewart
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 19 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Pulitzer Prize winner James B. Stewart shows for the first time how four of the biggest names on Wall Street - Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine - created the greatest insider-trading ring in financial history and almost walked away with billions - until a team of downtrodden detectives triumphed over some of America's most expensive lawyers to bring this powerful quartet to justice.
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Awesome book
- By Lars Tackmann on 10-23-17
By: James B. Stewart
What listeners say about The Taking of Getty Oil
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- Emai Sostos
- 09-19-23
Captivating business story
I read this book once a year (now listen) so many cautionary tales to be learned.
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- Philo
- 05-01-15
Dazzling on so many levels
Gripping elements abound: the absurdities of vast amounts of multi-generational wealth tumbling from the dead hand of a wildly creative-ruthless-disruptive patriarch into widely varied (and wildly eccentric) hands; the wealth-and-prestige-oozing scene rapidly developing a rich ecosystem of alliances, schemers, hangers-on, betrayals, awful legal conundrums trapping the most calculating people; swirling pools and eddies filled with lawyers, syncophants (some in very expensive trappings!), corporate chiefs, raiders, swarming in all directions and alignments, clawing for the glittering (or rather, oily) prize; and the climactic perfect storm systems one can see, brewing, frothing, forming up and approaching, to sweep these characters into fortune or chaos, willy-nilly.
Yet, there is a clear determinism in the sequence of events, a logical flow, but unpredictable, in the way impenetrable chaos is deterministic. It makes sense in the (skillful) telling, but midstream, we can't tell where it (and the characters) will wind up. I.e., this is a great explication of real life, with a kicker of billions of dollars whipped into the mix, a sort of accellerant.
All this is told in meticulous, lucid, businesslike detail. The author understands the legal structures and the stakes, and wastes barely a word describing each moment. The tempo delights me. This is not a sloppily written book. All the weirdness and hilarities of narrative twists are somehow laid out in a sober and constantly understandable sequence. Despite all this, if you don't like corporate/legal matters, you might not enjoy this so much. But for me, the colorful stories of a truly weird family provide a strangely hilarious relief peppered all through the sophisticated structures and plot turns. I can't get enough of it, and fortunately this is a prolific author. On deck: The Exxon-Mobil book. I have a new favorite author.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Admiralu
- 05-19-20
Destruction of Getty Oil
I had read a bio of J Paul Getty and his complex life, which was quite interesting. I decided to read this to find out what happened to the company his father had built and he had carefully managed and grew over the years. I could see why Gordon was not his choice to handle the trust alone. Undoubtedly, J Paul would be angry and disappointed at how the company was destroyed. The management team had done an admirable job of running the company, but with the death of an influential company lawyer, things quickly grew out of control. Gordon's lack of business instinct led to situations that out the company in danger. He was unaware and didn't care. I felt sympathy for Sid Peterson, the exec in charge, trying to protect the company and manage Gordon's increasingly unusual requests wanting to "enhance shareholder value." His misguided efforts led to numerous lawyers ( for him, for the company, for the trust, then the merger and valuations). It finally reached the point where the company was forced to find a buyer and fend off takeover attempts. Predatory businessmen and lawyers came for the feeding frenzy. You need a scorecard to keep track of all the players. Gordon, the Getty Trust, Getty Museum, other family members, the board of directors of Getty Oil, Pennzoil, Texaco and an army of lawyers. This led to one of the largest mergers and largest lawsuit damages at the time. This was a long book even for me to get through. The first half flew, my favorite parts being the board vs Gordon. It bogged down for me during the trial. I read this book using immersion reading. Narration by Steven Cooper was straightforward and rote.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Caro
- 02-22-18
Coll is a master!
The Getty takeover was intricate and complicated, financially complex, with a gamut of multiple players all with outsize personalities. Coll delivers in a masterful, understandable book, ideal for listening. So compelling!
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- Jean
- 08-27-15
Sibling contention, intrique, courtroom drama
Steve Coil, a correspondent for the Washington Post has painstakingly reconstructed telephone conversations, meetings and written memoranda to set out the events leading to the litigation between Pennzoil and Texaco. Coil has maintained his reporter’s objectivity, not condemning anyone but staying neutral throughout the book. The book was originally published in 1987.
The first part of the book is about the Getty family and their inner fights. The middle of the book is about Getty oil and its corporate officers and board members and their relationship with Gordon Getty. The last part of the book is about the trial.
Three and a half years of haggling and infighting preceded the legal judgment. Gordon Getty, one of the J. Paul Getty’s sons became sole trustee of the Sarah C. Getty Trust, which owned 40% of Getty Oil’s stock. Gordon Getty maneuvered for control of the company in opposition of the company management and his family. Pennzoil thought they did a takeover in January of 1984 in an agreement in principle to buy the bloc of Getty Stock, then the following week Texaco offered more money and bought the same stock.
On November 1985 a Houston court awarded a ten billion dollar judgment against Texaco to Pennzoil. It is the largest damages award yet made in an American business case.
The book by Coil reads like a novel with lots of drama, family conflicts and business fighting. I found the book most interesting. Steven Cooper narrated the book.
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9 people found this helpful
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- AVJ
- 01-10-25
A business history and legal thriller in one
Incredible book, one of the best narrators ever. Really enjoyed the book, was fighting the urge to google the story while mid book
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- Jeff Cherniss
- 07-17-17
Masterful telling of a cautionary business tale by a masterful journalist.
Steve Coll is one of the great nonfiction writers of our day. The personalities described in this tome are complex and deep with the exception of the clearly shallow money grubbers and cheats.The story develops from the death of a trusted attorney to the feeding frenzy of the takeover craziness of the mid 80s by executives, investors, attorneys and bankers with varying degrees of integrity. There are no true heroes with plenty of greed; enough for extra helpings. I will spoil the ending: The shareholders lose :-( 🤠
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2 people found this helpful
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- James Walters
- 06-25-21
Couldn’t get over the reading
Aghhh - performance feels like narrator has no idea they’re telling a story - just reading words, super hard to get into.
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1 person found this helpful
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- sum02006
- 09-07-24
Terrible narration
The narrator was epically bad. I have listened to hundreds of audiobooks and this is hands down the worst I’ve ever heard. I wouldn’t listen to this guy if he were singing me happy birthday or extolling my virtues.
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- Peter
- 04-16-22
Narrator ruins what is otherwise a good book
Just so monotone. I couldn't do anything else while listening to it besides lay in bed or I completely lost focus.
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1 person found this helpful