"Rich and dumb" typically describes starlets or heiresses, not art museums -- but the Getty Trust in Los Angeles may change all that. From sexual shenaningans in the executive suite (described by Sharon Waxman in Loot) to the ignominious ouster of Getty director Barry Munitz and the indictment of curator Marion True for antiquities smuggling, the Getty has faced one embarrassment after another. Now, the Getty has announced that its endowment was so poorly invested -- including an unbelievable two-thirds of the total in unsafe "alternative" assets -- that drastic cuts in programming and personel are necessary. In all, the institution is cutting about $75 million from its $300-million budget, and eliminating more than 200 positions, including 62 jobs at the Getty Museum. Perhaps one employee who imay prove superfluous is James Williams, chief investment officer at the trust, who told the press that his portfolio is "consistent with the best institutional funds out there." One would have to agree that his results seem certainly as good as the work at Bear Stearns or A.I.G. As for Getty Trust CEO James N. Wood, he has a plan: the cost of parking at the Getty is going up from $10 to $15.
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