Goldner received his B.A. in 1965 from
Columbia University. He entered as a mathematics major and switched to
art history after being encouraged by his roommate and best friend, Vieri Salvadori, son of
Manhattan Project consultant and
Columbia University professor
Mario Salvadori, to visit
Italy. In the 1970s, he taught at the
State University of New York at Albany for three years and spent seven years at
Occidental College. Under his tenure, the Getty spent over $300 million in acquiring about 370 paintings. The
London Independent called him the "art world's number one spender." Goldner announced retirement in 2014 and worked as an advisor to
Leon Black in building his personal art collection. He also remained an advisor to director
Thomas P. Campbell until his 2017 exit. == Personal life ==