Gordon Getty

Gordon Getty
Born	Gordon Peter Getty (1933-12-20) December 20, 1933 Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Businessman, investor, philanthropist, composer
Spouse(s)	Ann Gilbert (m. 1964)
Partner(s)	Cynthia Beck
Children	Gordon Peter Getty, Jr. (b. 1965) Andrew Rork Getty (1967–2015) John Gilbert Getty (b. 1968) William Paul Getty (b. 1970) Nicolette Getty Kendalle Getty Alexandra Getty
Parent(s)	J. Paul Getty Ann Rork Light

Gordon Peter Getty (born December 20, 1933) is an American businessman, investor, philanthropist and classical music composer, the fourth child of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty. His mother, Ann Rork, was his father's fourth wife. When his father died in 1976, Gordon assumed control of Getty's US$2 billion trust. According to the Forbes 400, as of September 2011 his net worth is $2 billion, making him number 212 on the list of the richest Americans. The Gordon Gekko character portrayed by Michael Douglas in the 1987 film Wall Street is named in reference to him.

Life and career

Getty was raised in San Francisco, California, attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory, University of San Francisco 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. He has seven children: four sons with his wife, Ann Gilbert Getty, and three daughters with his longtime partner, Cynthia Beck .

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. In 1983, Forbes magazine ranked him the richest person in America with a net worth a little over $2 billion. His current net worth is cited as US$2 billion, making him the 212th richest person in the United States.

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, piano pieces 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 and the Russian National Orchestra.

In 2002, Getty founded ReFlow, a company which temporarily purchases shares in mutual funds to save funds taxes and commissions.

On April 1, 2015, it was reported that Getty's son Andrew Rork Getty died at his home in Hollywood Hills of what was initially classified as natural causes, however coroner's officials needed to wait for the results of further examination and toxicology tests before making a final determination.

On May 9, 2015, there was a debut performance at Leipzig Opera of the The Canterville Ghost opera by Gordon Getty.

External links

• Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People
• Gordon Getty composer website