Editing Gordon Getty

{{short description|American heir and composer (born 1933)}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Gordon Getty
| image         = Gordon Getty at service for J. Paul Getty.jpg
| caption       = Getty in 1976
| imagesize     =
| birth_name    = Gordon Peter Getty
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1933|12|20}}
| birth_place   = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| death_place   = 
| death_cause   = 
| resting_place = 
| alma_mater    = [[University of San Francisco]]<br>[[San Francisco Conservatory of Music]]
| occupation    = Businessman, composer
| years_active  = 
| spouse        = {{marriage|[[Ann Getty|Ann Gilbert]]|1964|2020||reason=her death}}
| partner       = 
| children      = 7, including [[Andrew Getty|Andrew]] and [[Kendalle Getty|Kendalle]]
| parents       = [[J. Paul Getty]]<br>[[Ann Rork Light]]
| family        = [[Getty family|Getty]]
}}

'''Gordon Peter Getty''' (born December 20, 1933) is an American businessman and [[classical music]] composer, the fourth child of oil tycoon [[J. Paul Getty]]. His mother, [[Ann Rork Light|Ann Rork]], was his father's fourth wife.<ref>{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Byrne | title=Bringing Up Baby Gavin | date=April 2, 2003 | url=http://www.sfweekly.com/2003-04-02/news/bringing-up-baby-gavin | work=SF Weekly | access-date=April 21, 2009 | archive-date=July 22, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722023716/http://www.sfweekly.com/2003-04-02/news/bringing-up-baby-gavin/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> When his father died in 1976, Gordon assumed control of [[Getty family|Getty's]] [[United States dollar|US$]]&nbsp;2&nbsp;billion trust. His net worth was $2.1 billion in September 2020, making him number 391 on the [[Forbes 400|''Forbes'' 400]] list of the wealthiest Americans.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/gordon-getty/ |title=Gordon Getty|access-date=May 10, 2019| magazine=Forbes}}</ref>

==Early life==
Getty was raised in [[San Francisco]], [[California]], where he attended [[St. Ignatius College Preparatory]] and the [[University of San Francisco]].<ref name="usfca.edu">{{Cite web |date=2024-02-12 |title=Gordon Getty '56 Turns 90 — The Art of Giving and Lasting Change {{!}} University of San Francisco |url=https://www.usfca.edu/news/gordon-getty-56-turns-90-art-giving-and-lasting-change |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=www.usfca.edu |language=en}}</ref> He would also earn a B.A. in music from the [[San Francisco Conservatory of Music]].<ref name=Forbes407 /> He studied singing with [[Verna Osborne]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Verna-Osborne-opera-singer-vocal-coach-102-2519526.php|title=Verna Osborne -- opera singer, vocal coach, 102|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|author=Marianne Costantinou|date=April 30, 2006}}</ref>

==Career==
He joined the oil business to please his father; however, he eventually sold the family's [[Getty Oil]] to [[Texaco]] in 1986 for [[United States dollar|US$]]10&nbsp;billion. In 1983, ''[[Forbes]]'' magazine ranked him the richest person in America with a net worth of a little over $2 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gordon Getty |url=https://www.goodreturns.in/gordon-getty-net-worth-and-biography-blnr1378.html#:~:text=Born%20into%20wealth%2C%20Getty%20inherited,billion%20by%20Forbes%20in%202020. |website=goodreturns}}</ref> His net worth was cited as $2.1&nbsp;billion in 2020, making him the 391st richest person in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Forbes 400 - The Definitive Ranking Of The Wealthiest Americans In 2020|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/|access-date=September 18, 2020|website=www.forbes.com}}</ref>

In 2002, Getty founded ReFlow, a company which temporarily purchases shares in [[mutual fund]]s to save funds taxes and commissions.<ref name=Forbes407>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/10/07billionaires_Gordon-Getty_IX01.html |title= #407 Gordon Getty |access-date=November 20, 2008| work=Forbes |date=August 3, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hibbard |first=Justin |title=How Gordon Getty Got To 'Aha!{{'-}} |journal=Business Week |date=October 10, 2005 |url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_41/b3954109.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519031820/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_41/b3954109.htm |archive-date=May 19, 2009 }}</ref>

===Classical music===
Among several professions, Getty is a [[European classical music|classical music]] composer whose compositions include the opera ''Plump Jack'', ''Joan and the Bells'', piano pieces, and a collection of choral works. His one-act opera ''Usher House'' was performed by the San Francisco Opera in 2015.<ref name="usfca.edu"/>  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]].<ref>''San Francisco Chronicle''</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=September 2013}}

Getty's opera ''[[The Canterville Ghost (Getty opera)|The Canterville Ghost]]'' was premiered on May 9, 2015, at the [[Leipzig Opera]].

==Personal life==
On Christmas Day, 1964, he married [[Ann Getty|Ann Gilbert]] (1941–2020) in [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Roberts|first=Sam|date=September 19, 2020|title=Ann Getty, 79, a Publisher and a Bicoastal Arts Patron|volume=170|page=B12|work=New York Times|issue=58821|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/obituaries/ann-getty-dead.html|access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-2nd-getty-family-an-open-secret-20150331-story.html|title=Gordon Getty's second family was an open secret|first=Los Angeles|last=Times|website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=August 31, 1999}}</ref> Gordon and Ann Getty lived in a yellow Italianate mansion in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, with sweeping views of the [[Golden Gate Bridge]] and [[Alcatraz]]. Over the years, Getty and Ann, a publisher and a decorator, expanded their living space, buying the house next door (to make room for his work at the piano) and then the house next door to that. They hosted charity events, opera stars, and fundraisers for politicians, including [[Kamala Harris]] and [[Gavin Newsom]]. Gavin Newsom's father, [[William Newsom]], one of Gordon's friends since high school, managed the family trust for years.<ref name="The Getty Family's Trust Issues">{{cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/23/the-getty-familys-trust-issues|title=The Getty Family's Trust Issues|newspaper=The New Yorker|date=January 16, 2023|last1=Osnos|first1=Evan}}</ref>

Gordon and Ann Getty had four sons: Gordon Peter Getty Jr (born 1965); William Paul Getty (born 1970); [[Andrew Getty|Andrew Rork Getty]] (1967–2015); John Gilbert Getty (1968–2020).

Getty's assets are managed by Vallejo Investments. Vallejo Investments is what's known as a "family office,"  an in-house financial team of specialized attorneys, accountants, and money managers.<ref name="The Getty Family's Trust Issues"/>

Getty has a second family based in Los Angeles, including three daughters,  with his former longtime companion Cynthia Beck.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Finz |first1=Stacy |date=August 29, 1999 |title=Getty's Secret Double Life |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Getty-s-Secret-Double-Life-Second-family-in-2911639.php |newspaper=The New Yorker}}</ref>

His donations to [[University of San Francisco]] helped build the Koret Health & Recreation Center, John Lo Schiavo, S.J. Center for Science & Innovation, and helped establish the J. Paul Getty Honors College Fund.<ref name="usfca.edu"/>

==In popular culture==
Gordon Getty's life as a composer was chronicled in Peter Rosen's documentary ''Gordon Getty: There Will be Music,'' which premiered on February 5, 2016, at Cinema Village in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/article/gordon-getty-documentary-family-curse-music|title=How Music Helped Gordon Getty Escape His Family's Famous Curse|date=February 9, 2016}}</ref> It has been broadcast on PBS in the U.S. and Europe on ARTE, as well as film festivals and programs across the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/ThereWillBeMusic/ |title=Gordon Getty: There Will Be Music|website=[[Facebook]] }}</ref>

== Honors and awards ==
* 1986 – Outstanding American Composer, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://www.instantencore.com/contributor/bio.aspx?CId=5006692|title=Gordon Getty Biography – InstantEncore|website=www.instantencore.com|access-date=April 4, 2016}}</ref>
* 2003 – Gold Baton, [[League of American Orchestras]]<ref name="auto"/>
* 2015 – [[University of San Francisco]] Alumnus of the Year<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usfca.edu/news/gordon-getty-composer-and-philanthropist-named-usf-alumnus-of-the-year|title=Gordon Getty, Composer and Philanthropist, Named USF Alumnus of the Year|last=atemkar|website=University of San Francisco|access-date=April 4, 2016|date=October 5, 2015}}</ref>
* 2023 – [[San Francisco Conservatory of Music]] Dinner in his Honor<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaliss |first=Jeff |date=December 18, 2023 |orig-date=December 18, 2023 |title=Gordon Getty Honored on the Eve of His 90th Birthday |url=https://www.sfcv.org/articles/music-news/gordon-getty-honored-eve-his-90th-birthday |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121024303/https://www.sfcv.org/articles/music-news/gordon-getty-honored-eve-his-90th-birthday |archive-date=January 21, 2024 |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=www.sfcv.org |language=en}}</ref>

== List of works ==
Opera
* [[The Canterville Ghost (Getty opera)|''The Canterville Ghost'']]
* ''[[Usher House]]''
* ''Plump Jack''
* ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips''
Cantata

* ''Joan and the Bells''

Chamber works

* ''Four Traditional Pieces''
* ''Homework Suite''
* ''Kathie Trio''

Choral works

* ''Annabel Lee''
* ''Ballet Russe''
* ''Beauty Come Dancing''
* ''Cynara''
* ''The Destruction of Sennacherib''
* ''For a Dead Lady''
* ''Four Christmas Carols''
* ''Gretchen to Faust''
* ''Impenitent Ultima''
* ''La Belle Dame sans Merci''
* ''The Little Match Girl''
* ''Mephistopheles to Faust''
* ''The Old Man in the Night''
* ''The Old Man in the Morning''
* ''The Old Man in the Snow''
* ''A Prayer for My Daughter''
* ''There Was A Naughty Boy''
* ''Those Who Love the Most''
* ''Three Welsh Songs''
* ''St. Christopher''
* ''Victorian Scenes''
* ''Young America''

Orchestral works

* ''Ancestor Suite''
* ''Four Traditional Pieces''
* ''Homework Suite''
* ''Overture to Plump Jack''
* ''Raise the Colors''

Voice and Orchestra

* ''Cyanara''
* ''The Destruction of Sennacherib''
* ''Four Dickinson Songs''
* ''Gretchen to Faust''
* ''Hostess’s Aria''
* ''Kathie’s Aria''
* ''Mephistopheles to Faust''
* ''No, My Good Lord''
* ''Poor Peter''
* ''A Prayer for my Daughter''
* ''Where is My Lady?''

Solo Instrument

* ''Spring Song'' (for cello)
* ''Ninna Nanna'' (for cello)
* ''Winter Song'' (for cello)

Piano works

* ''Ancestor Suite''
* ''Andantino''
* ''First Adventure''
* ''Four Traditional Pieces''
* ''Homework Suite''
* ''Scherzo Pensieroso''
* ''Tiefer und Tiefer''

Songs

* ''Four Dickinson Songs''
* ''Poor Peter''
* ''A Prayer for My Daughter''
* ''The White Election''

Arrangements of existing works

* ''All Through the Night'' – chorus and eight cellos
* ''Danny Boy –'' voice and piano/voice and orchestra
* ''Deep River'' – voice and piano/voice, chorus and orchestra
* ''Silent Night'' ''–'' chorus and orchestra
* ''Shenandoah'' – chorus and orchestra

== Discography ==
*''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (2025, [[Pentatone (record label)|Pentatone]] PTC 5187050)
*''An American Song Album'' (2019, Pentatone PTC 5186770)  
*''Beauty Come Dancing'' (2018, Pentatone PTC 5186621)
*''A Certain Slant of Light'' (2018, Pentatone PTC 5186634)
*''[[The Canterville Ghost (Getty opera)|The Canterville Ghost]]'' (2017, Pentatone PTC 5186541)
*''Out of the Shadows: Rediscovered American Art Song'' (2016, Pentatone PTC 5186572)
* ''The Little Match Girl'' (2015, Pentatone PTC 5186480)
* ''December Celebration: New Carols by Seven American Composers'' (2015, Pentatone PTC 5186537)
* ''Usher House'' (2013, Pentatone PTC 5186451)
* ''Piano Pieces'' (2013, Pentatone PTC 5186505)
* ''The Hours Begin to Sing'' (2013, Pentatone PTC 5186459)
* ''Orchestral Works'' (2010, Pentatone PTC 5186356)
* ''Plump Jack'' (2012, Pentatone PTC 5186445)
* ''The White Election'' (2009, Pentatone PTC 5186054)
* ''And if the song be worth a smile'' (2008, Pentatone PTC 5186099)
* ''Young America Choral Works'' (2005, Pentatone PTC 5186040)
* ''Joan and the bells & Serge Prokofiev – Romeo and Juliet'' (2003, Pentatone PTC 5186017)

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[https://www.forbes.com/profile/gordon-getty Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People]
*[http://gordongetty.com Gordon Getty composer website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Getty, Gordon}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American philanthropists]]
[[Category:20th-century American classical composers]]
[[Category:21st-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:21st-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century American philanthropists]]
[[Category:21st-century American classical composers]]
[[Category:American billionaires]]
[[Category:American businesspeople in the oil industry]]
[[Category:American financiers]]
[[Category:American investors]]
[[Category:American political fundraisers]]
[[Category:American opera composers]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from San Francisco]]
[[Category:California Democrats]]
[[Category:Composers from San Francisco]]
[[Category:Getty family|Gordon]]
[[Category:American male opera composers]]
[[Category:Musicians from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:San Francisco Conservatory of Music alumni]]
[[Category:St. Ignatius College Preparatory alumni]]