Which Getty family members have made major political donations in California and how much have they given?
Executive summary
The Getty family has been an identifiable source of political funding in California, with at least eighteen family members collectively giving "more than a half‑million dollars" to Gavin Newsom’s campaigns and with individual heiresses like Aileen Getty documented as significant donors [1] [2]. Reporting names Gordon Getty, Ann Getty and actor Balthazar Getty among donors, while other sources place individual Gettys — notably Aileen — as repeat contributors and philanthropic funders who also give to political causes [1] [2] [3].
1. Who the reporting actually identifies as donors
The most detailed reporting names a cohort of Getty relatives who have supported Gavin Newsom across many campaign cycles: Gordon Getty, his wife Ann Getty, actor Balthazar Getty and a total of eighteen Getty family members are cited as having donated to Newsom’s political campaigns [1]. That Los Angeles Times investigation explicitly documents the family’s long‑standing pattern of giving to Newsom and situates their donations as part of an elite San Francisco donor network that propelled his rise [1].
2. How much the family has given collectively
Multiple outlets converge on the same headline figure for the Newsom relationship: the eighteen Gettys named in reporting cumulatively contributed more than $500,000 to Newsom across nine campaigns, beginning with a $750 contribution in 1998 and extending through his later statewide races [1] [4]. The Daily Mail and other outlets repeat the "more than $500,000" total as well, reflecting that figure’s circulation in secondary coverage [5].
3. Documented individual donors and totals
Among individually named Gettys, Aileen Getty is the most quantifiably tracked in available reporting: InfluenceWatch and related coverage list Aileen’s total donations to Newsom’s campaigns as $92,400 as of September 2018 [2]. Other family members — Gordon, Ann and Balthazar Getty — are identified as donors, but the accessible reporting aggregates many of their individual contributions into the family total rather than publishing separate line‑item totals for each [1] [6].
4. Broader philanthropic and political activity that shades these donations
Several Getty heirs run foundations and give to issue groups as well as campaigns, blurring lines between philanthropy and political influence; Aileen Getty’s foundation, for example, is an active funder of climate activism organizations and left‑of‑center causes, which some outlets treat as politically relevant [3]. Forbes and other profiles note that other Getty descendants have given to Democratic causes historically, indicating a pattern of private, often discreet, political spending alongside public philanthropy [6].
5. How critics and opponents frame the Getty money
Newsom’s political opponents have at times tried to weaponize the governor’s friendships with the Gettys and other San Francisco elites, using the donations and social ties to argue he’s aligned with wealthy interests — an argument both Newsweek and other outlets report as recurring in political commentary [7]. At the same time, reporting from the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek points out that other Bay Area families also contributed heavily to Newsom, providing context that the Gettys are one of several elite donor clusters [1] [7].
6. Limits of the public record and where to look next
OpenSecrets and public campaign‑finance filings are the natural sources for precise, itemized donor records by individual Gettys and amounts, but the summaries in mainstream reporting often aggregate family giving and philanthropic grants rather than listing every check by name [8]. The reporting available to this analysis provides a clear family aggregate (> $500,000 to Newsom’s campaigns) and one documented individual total for Aileen ($92,400) while noting other Gettys (Gordon, Ann, Balthazar) as participants without publishing separate, fully enumerated tallies in these sources [1] [2] [6].