Gene Hackman stiffed kids in $80 million will signed 20 years ago
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Published Mar 17, 2025  â˘Â Last updated 10 minutes ago  â˘Â 5 minute read
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Betsy Arakawa and Gene Hackman. Photo by Getty ImagesGene Hackman left behind a reported $80 million, but it remains a mystery as to who will get their hands on his fortune.
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BBC News, TMZ, the Daily Mail, USA Today and PEOPLE report that the will of the two-time Oscar winner has been released, revealing that Hackman left his entire estate to his late wife, Betsy Arakawa, with no mention of his three kids from his earlier marriage.
Hackman shared three children â son Christopher Allen, 65, and daughters Leslie Anne, 58, and Elizabeth Jean, 62 â with his first wife Fay Maltese, whom he married in 1956.Â
He listed Arakawa as his sole beneficiary back in 1995. The classical pianist said that if she predeceased her husband she wanted her assets to go to her spouse. But in a twist, Arakawa instructed that if Hackman did not survive 90 days past the date of her death, her money was ordered to be put in a charitable trust whose goal would be to âachieve purposes beneficial to the community, consistent with the charitable preferences and interests expressed or indicated by my spouse and me during our lifetimes.â
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Attorney Julia Peters has been appointed as executor of both wills, though itâs now unclear where the money will go. With both Hackman and Arakawa dead, the kids could try to make a claim to Hackmanâs cash as his most direct living heirs.
On Friday, a source close to the couple told The Hollywood Reporter that Hackman had a trust established and a trustee will determine how the funds are distributed.Â
A legal expert told the Daily Mail, âIf he died first and (Betsy) had survived, it wouldâve been World War III. His kids wouldâve probably gone crazy.â
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa arrive for the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2003. Photo by Getty ImagesHackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65 â who were married since 1991 â were found dead along with one of their three dogs inside their sprawling home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, last month.
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Following news of the Unforgiven actorâs death, his daughters and granddaughter released a statement saying they were âdevastated by the loss.â
âHe was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us, he was always just Dad and Grandpa,â they wrote.
In a press conference earlier this month, New Mexicoâs chief medical examiner, Dr. Heather Jarrell, shed light on how Hackman and Arakawaâs horrific end unfolded.
According to Jarrell, Arakawa died a full week before her husband of hantavirus, a rare infectious illness that begins with flu-like symptoms and progresses rapidly to more severe disease.
Jarrell said the symptoms consist of fever, muscle aches, cough, vomiting and diarrhea that can progress into heart or lung failure and comes anywhere from one to eight weeks after exposure to excrement from âa particular mouse species.â
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Arakawa was discovered in a bathroom in the coupleâs home on Feb. 26. An opened orange prescription bottle was observed on the countertop, and pills were strewn around it. A deceased Kelpie mix dog (which was originally misidentified as a German Shepherd) was located inside a âclosed crate,â with two other dogs found alive on the property.
Jarrell said the pills were thyroid medication which were being taken as prescribed.
Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza said at the news conference Friday that Arakawaâs last known communication came on Feb. 11 when she emailed her massage therapist in the morning, and was spotted at a farmerâs market and a CVS drugstore later that afternoon.
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But the mystery surrounding her death took another turn when Arakawaâs physician, Dr. Josiah Child, said that she called his office on Feb. 12 â one day after authorities speculated she had died.
âMrs. Hackman didnât die on Feb. 11 because she called my clinic on Feb. 12,â he told the Daily Mail on Saturday.
âWe made her an appointment, but she never showed up,â Child claimed. âShe did not show any symptoms of respiratory distress. The appointment wasnât for anything related to hantavirus. We tried calling her a couple of times with no reply.â
The cause of death for Hackman was listed as a result of severe heart disease with advanced Alzheimerâs disease playing a âsignificantâ contributing factor.
In her press conference, Jarrell added that it was conceivable that Hackman did not know his wife had died inside their home.
âItâs quite possible he was not aware she was deceased,â Jarrell said.
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In its report, police said Arakawaâs body showed âobvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mumification in both hands and feet.â
Both had been deceased âfor quite a while.â
In a 2000 interview with Irish Independent, Hackman admitted that his relationship with his children had been strained at times over the years.Â
Actor Gene Hackman holds the Cecile B. DeMille Award at the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards 19 January 2003 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo by HECTOR MATA /AFP via Getty ImagesâItâs tough being the son or daughter of a celebrity ⌠I couldnât always be home with them when they were growing up and then, living in California, theyâve had my success always hanging over their heads,â he said.
But it seems he had at least some contact with one of his children.
After his death was announced, his daughter Leslie Anne, said her father was âin good health.â
âDespite his age, he was in very good physical condition,â she told the Daily Mail. âHe liked to do Pilates and yoga, and he was continuing to do that several times a week.â
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But in the months leading up to his death, neighbours Daniel and Barbara Lenihan and their son, Aaron, said Hackman was âessentially kind of homebound.â
Daniel and Barbara said that in the âlast couple of months,â Hackman âwas really slipping,â and the actor had stopped riding his bike around town.
âBetsy tried to keep him kind of active and engaged,â Aaron told PEOPLE, adding that the actor liked doing puzzles and yoga via Zoom. âShe was still trying to keep him as healthy as possible.â
mdaniell@postmedia.com
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