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.
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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 subsequently appeared in a local operatic production, which was panned by the San Francisco Chronicle.[1] He and his wife have supported the fine arts, especially underwriting productions of the San Francisco Opera.[2]
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.[3]
References
- ^ Eyewitness account by Robert E. Nylund
- ^ San Francisco Chronicle
- ^ Stacy Finz; Jaxon Van Derbeken. "Getty's Secret Double Life", The San Francisco Chronicle, 21 August 1999. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
