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Gordon Peter Getty was born on December 20, 1934. He is the fourth child of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty. When his father died in 1976, control of his US$2 billion trust was transferred to Gordon. According to the Forbes 400, as of September 2008 his net worth is $2.5 billion, making him number 163 on the list of the richest Americans.1
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Biography
Getty was raised in San Francisco, California, attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory, and earned a B.A. in music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He married Ann Gilbert in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Christmas Day, 1964. The wedding was witnessed by William Newsom, Gordon's longtime friend, and father of Gavin Newsom.
He joined the oil business to please his father; however, he eventually sold the family's Getty Oil to Texaco in 1986 for US$10 billion. His current net worth is cited as US$2.2 billion, making him the 116th richest person in the United States. Getty helped finance Gavin Newsom's PlumpJack Group businesses, including five restaurants, a Napa Valley winery, a Squaw Valley hotel and resort, and two retail clothing stores. Of Newsom’s eleven enterprises, Gordon Getty was the lead investor in ten.
Getty is one of the nation's leading venture capitalists and philanthropists. In 2002, he donated US$3 million to the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, a charitable trust. Though a Republican, he is a major fundraiser for local and national Democratic Party candidates, and has contributed to the campaigns of Nancy Pelosi, Willie Brown, Gavin Newsom, and John Kerry.
Among a number of professions, Getty is a classical music composer, whose compositions include the opera Plump Jack, Joan and the Bells, and a collection of choral works. Aspiring to become an opera singer, Getty studied in the mid-1970s with Louise Caselotti, a mezzo soprano who had been Maria Callas' voice teacher (1946-47). He and his wife have supported the fine arts, especially underwriting productions of the San Francisco Opera.2
In 2002 Getty founded ReFlow, a company which temporarily purchases shares in mutual funds to save funds taxes and commissions.34
Personal Life Controversy
Gordon Getty has admitted to a 14 year affair with a Los Angeles woman Cynthia Beck. He has also admitted that he sired three illegitimate children with Ms. Beck. In 1999, Cynthia Beck sued for her children to be part of Gordon Getty's inheritance.5
References
- ^ "The 400 Richest People in America". Forbes Magazine (2008-09-17). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
- ^ San Francisco Chronicle
- ^ "#407 Gordon Getty". Forbes Magazine (2007-08-03). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
- ^ journal (or periodical) Hibbard, Justin (2005-10-10), "How Gordon Getty Got To "Aha!"", Business Week, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_41/b3954109.htm
- ^ Stacy Finz; Jaxon Van Derbeken (21 August 1999). "Getty's Secret Double Life", The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 3 September 2007.