Gordon Getty + daughters filed petition + name change, Three children kept secret for more than a decade by Gordon P. Getty are attempting to claim the surname of the billionaire San Franciscan, and are negotiating for inheritance rights from him.

In a court petition filed in April, Cynthia Beck, the children's mother, asserts that the three girls, ages 8, 10 and 14, are Getty's daughters.

"The minors wish to change their last name to their father's last name," the petition reads. "The minors' father is Gordon P. Getty, one of the well-known children of the famous J. Paul Getty."

Gordon P. Getty, a San Francisco socialite, philanthropist, composer and one of the richest men in the world, confirmed Friday that he fathered three children in Los Angeles.

"Nicolette, Kendalle and Alexandra are my children. 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," Getty said in a statement released on his behalf by his spokesman Larry Kamer.

"The Getty family has been fully supportive throughout this situation, and for that I am very grateful," the statement said.


A hearing on the case was scheduled in front of a Superior Court commissioner for next Thursday, but it was continued to Nov. 18.

The children's lawyer, Stephen Burgin, said he doesn't expect anyone to stand in the way of the name change.

"The father has not expressed any problems with that," Burgin said, calling it a "pretty perfunctory" process.

Burgin declined to comment on the negotiations.

Getty, 65, was sailing in Europe and could not be reached for comment. The San Jose Mercury News reported that a source close to the family said Ann, Getty's wife of more than three decades, is not considering divorce.

The newspaper said Getty's family in San Francisco, including his children Peter, John, Andrew and William, learned only recently about the other family. Getty's statement was written months ago in anticipation that the news would become public.

Oil money

Getty was worth $2 billion last year, according to Forbes magazine. The fourth of oil baron J. Paul Getty's five children, he sold the oil company founded by his father to Texaco for $10.1 billion in the 1980s.

The court petition to change the children's names was filed April 14 by Beck, who does not ask to have her own name changed in the document.

The petition also asks that their address be withheld from court documents, contending that the Gettys "have been concerned about security issues" since 1973, when Jean Paul Getty's oldest grandson, Jean Paul Getty III, was kidnapped by Italian gangsters.

The Getty patriarch, then 80, eventually loaned his third son part of the $3.2 million ransom, and the boy was returned, but not before kidnappers cut off the 16-year-old's ear.

Since the oil company was sold, Getty has turned his attention to music. His opera has been performed by the San Francisco Symphony.

At the center of society

The Gettys are fixtures in San Francisco high society. They hosted television star Don Johnson's wedding at their mansion in Pacific Heights, with Mayor Willie Brown presiding. President Clinton attended a fund-raiser at the Getty estate that raised $1 million for Democrats.

Getty's father once was believed to be the richest man in the United States. Born in Los Angeles, Gordon Getty has split his time between being a composer and a philanthropist.

Getty attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and his opera, "Plump Jack," has been performed by the Symphony.

Getty and his wife, Ann, were married in Las Vegas in 1964. Her passions are also centered in the arts, with interests in everything from book publishing to anthropology.

Before Texaco Inc.'s takeover of Getty Oil in 1984, Gordon Getty's share of the trust income was about $30 million per year, according to a New York Times article.

Gordon Getty is the sole family member on the board of directors of the $1 billion Getty Center, which opened in Los Angeles in 1997.



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