Gatsby is a young man, in his early thirties, who rose from a poverty-filled childhood in rural North Dakota to become fabulously wealthy. However, he achieved this by participating in organized crime, including the distribution of illegal alcohol (Boot legging). From his early youth, Gatsby despised poverty and desired wealth and refinement. Although Gatsby always wanted to be rich, his primary motivation for achieving his fortune was his love for Daisy Buchanan, whom he met as a young military officer in Louisville before leaving to fight in World War I in 1917. Gatsby he immediately fell in love with it. Daisy's tastes for luxury, grace and charm, and he lied to her about his past to convince her that he was good enough for her. Daisy promised to wait for him when he left for the war, but married Tom Buchanan in 1919, while Gatsby studied at Oxford after the war in an attempt to get an education. From then on, Gatsby devoted himself to winning Daisy back, and his acquisition of millions of dollars, the purchase of a huge mansion to his specifications in West Egg, and his lavish weekly parties are all mere attempts to lure her.