When he started a childhood rock collection, it grew to cover every surface in their apartment, which itself covered an entire floor overlooking the Hudson River. His father immigrated to New York with nothing, and rose up to become a wealthy textile company executive.
Oppenheimer grew up in privilege, and remained swaddled in it for his whole life. Or maybe he was a tragic figure in the mold of Lord Byron - interestingly dark and mystical, remarkably pretty, and rich as Midas. But then, tragic figures don’t generally spend their retirement yachting around the Caribbean. The father of the atomic bomb who spent the rest of his life agonizing over what he had helped birth the ultimate insider who was humbled and brought low the hopeful scientist who started the nuclear arms race. Robert Oppenheimer as a tragic figure - that’s certainly how Christopher Nolan portrays him in the biopic Oppenheimer.
