Gordon Getty, sole trustee of the family trust, sold Getty Oil to Texaco, and his nieces petitioned to remove him

J. Paul Getty died in 1976. His family's 40 percent of Getty Oil sat in the Sarah C. Getty Trust, founded by his mother, and his son Gordon, a composer, became its sole trustee^†. In early 1984 Gordon agreed to sell the company to Pennzoil. Days later Texaco offered more, and on February 17, 1984 the trustee sold the Getty Oil stock to Texaco for over $4 billion, in a deal worth about $10 billion for the whole company. Texaco's directors agreed to indemnify the trustee against damages. On June 8, 1984 the daughters of Gordon's late brother George F. Getty II petitioned a California court to remove and surcharge Gordon as trustee. Pennzoil sued Texaco for interfering with its contract with the Getty entities. On November 19, 1985 a Houston jury awarded Pennzoil $10.53 billion. Texaco filed for bankruptcy in 1987 and settled with Pennzoil for $3 billion. In 1985 the family resolved its dispute and the trust was divided into separate trusts for the family branches^†. Gordon Getty's fortune was estimated at $5.5 billion to $8 billion in 2026.