Meet Ivy Getty, the 29-year-old heiress to the Getty oil fortune and a member of one of the richest families in America (2024)

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Ivy Getty is the great-granddaughter of Jean Paul Getty, an oil tycoon who made his fortune during the 1900s.

Jean Paul Getty, the son of oil millionaire George F. Getty, made his first million in the oil trading business by 24. By the time of his death in 1976, he was widely considered to be one of the richest men in the world, worth at least $2 billion, Vanity Fair reported, or the equivalent of $11 billion in 2024.

J. Paul Getty was also infamously recognized for refusing to pay a $17 million ransom after his grandson, John Paul Getty III, was kidnapped by individuals linked to the Italian mafia. After a newspaper received John Paul Getty III's severed ear in the mail, his grandfather negotiated a ransom of $2.2 million that led to Getty III's release five months after being captured.

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Born in 1994, Ivy Love Getty is the only child of J. Paul Getty's grandson John Gilbert Getty.

Ivy Getty was born on December 20, 1994, in San Francisco. Her mother is jewelry designer Alyssa Boothby.

Her father, John Gilbert Getty, died at age 52 on November 20, 2020, from complications of an accidental drug overdose.

"I will forever be the proudest daughter," she wrote in a tribute to her father on Instagram after his death.

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She was raised by her grandparents Ann Getty and Gordon Getty, whose net worth is currently $2.1 billion.

Gordon Getty, a classical-music composer and winemaker, has a net worth of $2.1 billion, according to Forbes. He was once the sole trustee of the family trust, however, the fortune was broken up into six separate trusts in 1985, with Gordon Getty receiving $750 million, as reported by The New York Times.

Ann and Gordon Getty were married for 56 years before she died in 2020. They had four sons together, including Ivy's father. (Gordon Getty also has three daughters from what The Guardian called "a secret second family.")

Ivy Getty reportedly took the news of her grandmother's death hard and paid tribute to her in a 2022Town & Country cover story — Ann Getty had been on its cover in 1983.

"I have so much of her in me," Ivy Getty told the magazine. "She taught me about fashion, but also how to be a human being."

She remains close with her grandfather. In December 2023, she shared a photo of her with Gordon Getty on Instagram, writing, "Happy 90th birthday to my grandpa" followed by a series of heart emojis.

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She grew up in the family's famed San Francisco mansion.

Ann and Gordon's five-story home in the luxe neighborhood of Pacific Heights featured views of the San Francisco Bay and was filled with a vast collection of priceless antiques, wallpapers, and furnishings. It was often the location of parties and high-profile fundraisers.

In 2022, an enormous collection of the house's treasures, including artworks by Henri Matisse, went to auction. The items garnered $170 million, according to auction house Christie's, with the proceeds going to the couple's arts and science foundation.

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During her childhood, Ivy Getty also traveled the world, thanks to her grandmother.

"Education was very important to Ann, so each year she planned educational trips for Ivy and her school friends," Jo Schuman, Ivy Getty's godmother and Ann Getty's best friend, told Magazine C.

"They would take the Getty jet to study art in Paris, learn about animal welfare on safari in Africa, exposing Ivy to the world and learning she loved. Ivy had a very cosmopolitan upbringing."

After attending Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, she moved to New York City to pursue a career in modeling.

She is now signed with Ford Models and has had photo spreads in Town & Country Magazine and Elle, according to her Instagram page, which has over 90,000 followers.

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She frequently attends high-profile events, and was most recently photographed at the Met Gala.

She mostly recently attended the 2024 Met Gala with designer Conner Ives, who created her red-carpet gown for the theme "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," which had the dress code "Garden of Time."

She also wore custom animal-print Jimmy Choo heels and Bulgari jewels.

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She also regularly attends fashion week events.

She has attended Paris, London, New York, and Milan Fashion Week events.

When she's not making public appearances, she continues to travel the world, taking extravagant vacations to places including Positano, Italy, and St. Moritz, a luxury alpine resort town in Switzerland, according to photos shared on her Instagram page.

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In November 2021, Ivy Getty and photographer Tobias Engel had a lavish star-studded wedding ceremony.

Getty and Engel met through a family member and started dating after reuniting at a Paris Fashion Week event.

"I saw this cute guy who was taking photos of the event and of me," she told Vogue in November 2021. "I naturally went over, and we started talking. Quickly we realized that we had met before, the year before."

Engel later proposed with a sapphire engagement ring with diamonds added from a necklace once owned by Getty's grandmother.

They married in a private ceremony in December 2020 and then had a larger wedding celebration in November 2021, the New York Post reported.

For the opulent San Francisco event, Getty wore a custom couture gown completely covered in broken mirror shards designed by John Galliano for Maison Margiela. Gordon Getty, her grandfather, walked her down the aisle, and "The Queen's Gambit" actress Anya Taylor-Joy served as maid of honor.

Nancy Pelosi, a Getty family friend, officiated the ceremony at San Francisco City Hall, while the reception was held at the Getty mansion. The total cost for the ceremony alone added up to $102,546, according to public records reviewed by The San Francisco Chronicle.

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But just over two years later, she reportedly filed for divorce.

Page Six reported in April 2024 that Getty had filed for divorce in January. Engel contested it in March. Citing a source, the report added that the couple had a prenup.

Getty appears to have removed images of Engel from most of her social media.

"Tobias was very sweet to her and everyone else but you didn't feel any great passion there. They almost could have been siblings," a source told the New York Post in April.

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In 2021, Getty said she owned multiple properties: a penthouse in Lower Manhattan, which was partially designed by her grandmother, and an apartment in London.

The Manhattan penthouse was her primary residence with her husband.

Speaking to C Magazine in 2021, she said she and Engel had lived "so many different places," but that the Getty mansion in San Francisco still holds a special place in her heart.

"My grandmother interior designed each room of the house which allows me to feel as if she is there with me," she told Vogue in November 2021. "Her presence is everywhere in that home."