Posted on 04/17/2003 7:31:15 AM PDT by The_Victor
LONDON (Reuters) - Billionaire U.S. philanthropist John Paul Getty II died at a London hospital on Thursday at the age of 70, his doctor said in a statement.
Getty, who developed a love of Britain bordering on the fanatical, lived in the country for nearly 30 years and even built a replica of London's Oval cricket ground at his 2,500-acre Wormsley Lodge estate in southern England.
He was admitted to the London Clinic on Monday with a recurrent chest infection, Dr John Goldstone said.
"Sadly Sir Paul Getty passed away at 1040 a.m. today, Thursday..," he added in the statement.
Getty's multi-million pound donations to the Conservative Party, the National Gallery, Lords Cricket Ground and the British Film Institute came from his own pocket and revealed his abiding passion for cricket and the arts.
Getty lived a life that was the stuff of legend, moving from oil tycoon to drug addict and ultimately reclusive benefactor.
He became a Knight of the British Empire (KBE) in 1986 and adopted British nationality in 1998.
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