Billionaire Gordon Getty has more than one family:inheritence being negotiated
Patty
Billionaire Gordon Getty's secret family of 4 revealed
S.F. socialite has 3 daughters; inheritance being negotiated
BY DAN REED
Mercury News Staff Writer
SAN FRANCISCO -- Gordon P. Getty, philanthropist, composer, family man, San
Francisco socialite and heir to his father's oil fortune, has secretly kept
a second family in Los Angeles for more than a decade, sources confirmed to
the Mercury News on Thursday.
The Los Angeles branch, hidden from public life and living under a different
last name, consists of three girls and their mother, the Getty family has
confirmed through a spokesman. The Southern California clan is now in
negotiations with Getty for inheritance rights from the man once listed by
Forbes magazine as the richest in America, a source close to the family
said.
The existence of the second Getty family only recently came to the attention
of his San Francisco family, four adult sons -- Peter, John, Andrew and
William, also known as Billy -- and Ann, his wife of more than three
decades.
In a statement approved by Gordon and Ann Getty and released to the Mercury
News on Thursday by a family spokesman in New York, Gordon Getty said:
``Nicolette, Kendalle, and Alexandra are my children. Their mother, Cynthia
Beck, and I, love them very much. The most important concern is that the
children's needs be addressed with a minimum of disruption, and this will be
our first priority. The Getty family has been fully supportive throughout
this situation, and for that, I am very grateful.''
Getty is sailing in Europe and could not be reached for comment. A lawyer
for the trust declined comment but said Getty would return in about a week.
The statement had been drawn up a few months ago by the Gettys, fearing the
news would become public.
The spokesman declined to elaborate on the statement. A source close to the
family confirmed Getty's claim of family support: His wife, Ann, is not
considering divorce.
The sources declined to describe Getty's family's reaction, but said they
learned of the affair when an outsider discovered and exposed the dual life
to them.
``Somebody knew something about it and said something to the family,'' the
source said.
Born Dec. 20, 1934, Gordon Getty was the fourth of five children delivered
to the future oil baron, J. Paul Getty. Gordon Getty and his family fill the
society columns of San Francisco newspapers, rubbing shoulders with the rich
and famous, from President Clinton to television star Don Johnson, whose
wedding the Gettys hosted in April at their Pacific Heights mansion. Mayor
Willie Brown presided at the ceremony. This February, according to a
published report, a Clinton fundraiser at the Getty estate raised $1 million
to boost the Democrats' chances to win back Congress in the year 2000.
According to a short biography by Forbes magazine last year listing Getty as
worth $2 billion, the publication said the oil heir obliged his father by
joining the family business but realized classical music was his passion. He
attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and, in the 1980s, when
oil prices were at their peak, sold Getty oil to Texaco for $10.1 billion, a
wise maneuver that dispelled whispers among some that he had little business
acumen.
The restless Getty made more headlines when he penned his first work, an
opera in two parts inspired by Shakespeare's Falstaff, called ``Plump
Jack,'' that was performed by the San Francisco Symphony in 1985.
In a family that has seen more than its share of troubles, including divorce
and drug overdoses, some have said that Gordon was the most stable and
sensible of Jean Paul's surviving four offspring. One brother, the youngest,
died at the age of 12.
The family patriarch, who died in 1976, was at one time the world's richest
man. Miserly and shrewd, J. Paul Getty built an empire when he struck oil in
the Middle East in 1953. Yet, according to one report, he was so cheap that
he kept a pay phone in his house for guests to use.
In 1973, his eldest grandson, Jean Paul III, was kidnapped by Italian
gangsters. The elder Getty balked for five months, refusing to pay the $3.2
million ransom, until the kidnappers sent the boy's severed ear to an
Italian newspaper.
Finally he gave in, lending the boy's father part of the ransom money -- at
a fixed rate of interest -- to win his eventual release.
In a People magazine profile published last year, Gordon Getty was described
as the ``straight man'' of the siblings. He's the only family member on the
board of the new museum, the Getty Center in Los Angeles, a $1 billion
repository of classical art funded by the J. Paul Getty Trust that was 13
years in the making and opened to huge crowds in December 1997.
One of the most-awaited art centers in history, the sleek, cream-colored
Getty Center is set in the Santa Monica Mountains with views of the Pacific
Ocean.
Gordon Getty ``writes opera, donates millions to scientific research and the
arts, and loves fine Bordeaux, the San Francisco 49ers and Ann Gilbert, his
wife of 33 years,'' the magazine said. In another interview, Getty suggested
that he probably donates about $5 million a year to charity.
Besides ``Plump Jack,'' Getty's creative works include ``Emily Dickenson
Song Cycle.'' While his work was sometimes not favorably received by top
critics, he kept a good sense of humor about it. In one interview, asked if
he was nervous about singing baritone in an upcoming production, he said:
``The worst I can get is egg on my face. I can't lose my livelihood.''
Ann Getty is also very busy in high society, serving or having served on
such boards of trustees as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco
Opera and the New York public library, according to published reports.
Theirs is a life of the super-rich -- butlers, chefs and sumptuous parties.
For Gordon's birthday two years ago, his family threw him a bash with a
theme of India. The men wore turbans and mirrored earrings, and the woman
wore saris, according to an account in the San Francisco Examiner. ``The
scene was opulent as an MGM movie,'' the article said.
Another party thrown the same year for San Francisco Supervisor Gavin
Newsom, a family friend, had everyone dressed to the theme of the Great
Gatsby. Newsom is a partner with Billy Getty in the popular PlumpJack Cafe
and wine store, named after Gordon Getty's opera, in San Francisco's Cow
Hollow district.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
The Mercury News strives to avoid use of unnamed sources. When unnamed
sources are used because information cannot otherwise be obtained, the
newspaper generally requires more than one source to confirm the
information.
jlstlimitedc
Patty
The other woman, Cynthia Beck, and their three daughters ages 8, 10 and 14
are now negotiating for inheritance rights from Getty, listed last year as
the 82nd richest man in the country by Forbes magazine.
Getty has acknowledged the relationship.
``Nicolette, Kendalle and Alexandra are my children,'' Getty wrote in a
statement released to the media. ``Their mother, Cynthia Beck, and I love
them very much.''
The news of the affair is the latest episode in the continuing Getty soap
opera. By far one of San Francisco's most glamorous families, the extended
Getty family has known fabulous wealth and terrible tragedy, including
bitter lawsuits, divorces, drug overdoses and a kidnapping in 1973.
The lastest twist came four months ago, when Getty's daughters filed
documents in Los Angeles Superior Court requesting the name change. The file
does not list the girls' or their mother's address.
``There are unusual security issues in this action,'' wrote the girls'
attorney, Stephen Burgin, who works for the prestigious Los Angeles firm of
Latham & Watkins. ``The Getty family has a history of threats against it as
well as a violent kidnapping.''
A judge is scheduled to hear the case in November.
Friends of the Getty family described Cynthia Beck as a ``lovely woman.''
She is not a socialite, said one source.
``She is a nice lady and lives in the L.A. area'' was all Burgin would
divulge, saying the girls are ready to claim their birthright.
``They know and love their dad . . . and wanted to bear his name. It's
fairly straightforward,'' said Burgin, who says the desire to carry their
father's name outweighed the risk of exposure. ``The mother is certainly
aware of it. But this is not her issue, it's their issue.''
snip
But those close to the Getty family knew that it was only a matter of time
before the truth surfaced.
``Nothing is secret in this world, and sooner or later we knew something was
going to come out,'' said Ann Getty's longtime attorney William Coblentz,
``You face the facts. That's it. I've learned long ago that you tell the
truth on these things.''
Friends of the family say Getty's wife and four sons have known of the
affair for some time and described it as an unspoken arrangement between
husband and wife. Some members of the city's elite have apparently been
aware of Gordon Getty's other family for nine years. But it was a subject
they never broached.
Nor was it a subject that shocked them.
For the past decade, Getty and his wife of 34 years often spent months
apart. Ann Getty's many interests kept her away from home. They include a
publishing company with Lord Weidenfeld in New York and London and
archaeology studies at the University of California at Berkeley. She went on
extended digs in Ethiopia and other places, often gone for a month at a
time.
But in recent years, she has stayed closer to home. Most recently, Ann Getty
has taken an interest in interior design, lending a number of friends a
helping hand with their homes.
This week, the Gettys took a cruise to the Mediterranean aboard friend Ken
Rainin's yacht. They left last Saturday and are due back this weekend.
``They've got their problems,`` said one source who asked not to be
identified. ``But they're in the spotlight more than other people. They've
lived their lives in a public manner. It's very hard. With the vast amount
of wealth and the isolation that comes with it, you become so isolated in
your life.''
One son has a daughter, but he has not married her mother. Nevertheless, the
Gettys have embraced the child and established a Montessori preschool in
their Broadway mansion to educate her. It is estimated that 16 children
attend the school at which actor Don Johnson's wife, Kelley Phleger Johnson,
is a teacher. Johnson and Phleger were married in the Gettys' Pacific
Heights home last spring.
Through it all, the Gettys have contributed greatly to the community and
they repeatedly ask to be anonymous. The plaque thanking Gordon Getty, who
was essentially responsible for the remodeling and acoustical upgrading at
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, is backstage --at his request.
The Gettys are known for their hospitality. Placido Domingo stays with them
when he is in San Francisco as do most of the great opera singers who visit
the city.
Gordon Getty was born in Los Angeles in 1933, and by the time he was 12 his
parents were separated. He moved with his mother to Pacific Heights,
graduating from St. Ignatius High School and the University of San
Francisco, later attending the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he
found that composing was his passion.
In 1959, he published his first composition, an a cappella chorus to a poem
by Tennyson. He is a regular contributor to the San Francisco Opera,
symphony and a patron of the theater.
He and Ann Gilbert of Woodland (Yolo County) were married on Christmas Day
in 1964 after eloping to Las Vegas. Three years later, he sued his father,
Jean Paul Getty, in San Francisco Superior Court for $5 million in dividends
held in trust.
Jean Paul Getty, patriarch of the family, died in 1976. At one time he was
the world's richest man. In 1973, his eldest grandson, Jean Paul III was
kidnapped by Italian gangsters and held for $3.2 million ransom. The family
paid after the boy's severed ear was sent to an Italian newspaper.
Patty
CHART:
GETTY FAMILY TREE
.
JEAN PAUL GETTY
(1892-1976)
Inherited his father's oil business. Invested
money from oil empire into stock market, which proved to be
a sound business strategy. Kept a pay phone for his guests at
his $17 million London mansion.
.
Married five times
.
WIVES:
1. JEANNETTE DEMONT
Married 1923-25
.
CHILDREN:
GEORGE FRANKLIN GETTY II
(1924-73)
Served as executive vice president
and chief operating officer of Getty Oil until his death. His
unusual death at age 48 from a drug overdose was considered
a possible suicide.
-----------------------------------------
2. ALLENE ASHBY
Married 1926-28
(No children)
-----------------------------------------
3. ADOLFINE HELMLE
Married 1928-1932
.
CHILDREN:
(1) JEAN RONALD GETTY
(1929- )
Was briefly involved
in management of Getty Enterprises, and for reasons unknown
has been excluded from the family trust.
-----------------------------------------
4. ANN RORK
Married 1932-35
.
CHILDREN:
(1) JEAN PAUL GETTY JR.
(1932- )
Has secluded himself from the family and has lived
in London for more than 25 years. He revoked his American citizenship.
He received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in
1986 for donating more than $200 million to British causes.
.
GRANDCHILDREN:
-- JEAN PAUL III:
Kidnapped and held hostage by Italian Red Brigades. Ear was
chopped off before he was returned for a $1 million ransom.
-- AILEEN
-- MARK
-- ARIADNE
-- TARA
.
(2) GORDON PETER GETTY
(1933- )
Became father's favorite after his stepbrother George's death.
He is a philanthropist and composer. He has been married to Ann
Gilbert since 1964.
.
GRANDCHILDREN:
-- GORDON PETER JR.
-- ANDREW RORK
-- WILLIAM PAUL
-- JOHN GILBERT
.
Cynthia Beck
Had three daughters with Gordon Getty.
-- NICOLETTE
-- ALEXANDRA
-- KENDALLE
-----------------------------------------
5. THEODORA LYNCH
.
CHILDREN:
(1) TIMOTHY
(1946-1958)
Passed away at the age of 12 of surgical complications.
Patty
Patty <
> Excerpts from the San Frncisco Chronicle:
>
> the world's richest man. In 1973, his eldest grandson, Jean Paul III was
> kidnapped by Italian gangsters and held for $3.2 million ransom. The
family
> paid after the boy's severed ear was sent to an Italian newspaper.
>
From today's San Jose Mercury:
"Italian gangsters snatched the boy, demanding $3.2 million in ransom from
the man who was once believed to be the reichest man in America. But the
patriach, known for holding a hard line in business and personal affairs,
balked at paying until the boy's ear was severed and mailed to an Italian
newspaper. Even then, the elder Getty charged his son, Jaul Paul II, 4
percent interest on the loan to pay the ransom."
What kind of a grandfather would do that, *especially* with all his money?