The grandson of J. Paul Getty was found dead today "under suspicious circumstances," his ex-girlfriend is currently detained as a possible witness/suspect.
Andrew Getty's father, Gordon Getty, is one of the richest men in the U.S. Forbes put Gordon's wealth at $2.1 billion ... the family was listed as the 54th richest ... worth an estimated $5 billion. Read on ...
J. Paul Getty: The industrial patriarch who founded the Getty dynasty. He made his first million dollars by the age of 24 and his fortune thrived during the Great Depression.
Getty was known for being a miser - he once instaled a pay phone at his British stately home.
Despite his business success, he had five failed marriages - three in the 1920s alone.
He had five son with four of the wives - George Franklin Getty II (1924–1973); Jean Ronald Getty (born 1929); Eugene Paul Getty, later John Paul Getty Jr (1932–2003) and Gordon Peter Getty (born 1934) and Timothy Ware Getty (1946–1958).
John Paul Getty III had his ear cut off by Italian mobsters after being held to ransom for a portion of his wealthy family's fortune - which his grandfather initially refused to pay
John Paul Getty III: The oil heir was kidnapped in Rome at the age of 16 by Italian mobsters who demanded $17million for his safe return.
His grandfather, J Paul Getty, initially refused to pay the ransom, thinking that his wild grandson had staged his own kidnapping to extract money from him.
In November 1973, a lock of hair and an ear were posted to a newspaper with a threat to send the rest of the teenager's multilated bodies in bits.
The Gettys finally agreed to pay $3million and the teen was found alive at an Italian gas station.
John Paul Getty III was scarred both physically and mentally by the traumatic experience.
He became a drug addict and in 1981, he suffered a strok from excessive alcohol and drug use. He was left without speech, nearly blind and partially paralyzed. He died at the age of 54.
Timothy Ware Getty: Born to J. Paul Getty's fifth wife, Timmy developed a brain tumor at the age of six and was left blind. After years of seeing specialists, he died at the age of 12.
According to a memoir published by his fifth wife, Louise Dudley 'Teddy' Lynch, in 2013, her husband admonished her for the cost of the medical bills. Getty, who was living in England, did not attend his son's funeral in the U.S. and the couple divorced that year.
Gordon Getty: Andrew Getty's father, Gordon Getty, was embroiled in a scandal in 1999 when it was revealed the San Francisco social maven had been keeping a secret family in LA.
The revelation was made when Getty's three daughters with secret girlfriend Cynthia Beck filed papers in court to change their last name and secure a fraction of their father's fortune.
Gordon's wife Ann and their sons had allegedly known about the Becks for some time, and she decided to stay with her husband, despite his infidelity.
Two lives: Andrew Getty's father Gordon Getty pictured in 1986, a decade before his secret family was revealed
The move was allegedly pushed by Gordon's daughters, who were eight, ten and 14 years old at the time, according to their lawyer Stephen Burgin.
'They know and love their dad and wanted to bear his name. It's fairly straightforward. Their mother is aware of it, but this is not her issue, it's their issue,' Burgin said.
Gordon put up no fight.
'Nicolette, Kendalle and Alexandra are my children,' he said in a statement through his lawyer in 1999.
'Their mother, Cynthia Beck, and I love them very much. The most important concern is that the children's needs be addressed … this will be our first priority. The Getty family has been fully supportive throughout this situation, and for that I am very grateful.'
While he acted as his father's sucessor in the family business, Gordon Getty's real passion was music. He studied music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and has composed two operas and other classical works.
He and his wife also run the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, a charitable trust which they invested $3 million into in 2002. Though he is a registered Republican. Gordon Getty has held numerous fundraisers for Democratic candidates like Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and John Kerry.
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