Gene Hackman Reportedly Left His Fortune to Wife Betsy Arakawa

Details about Gene Hackman’s will have been revealed, after he and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead last month in their Santa Fe home. According to the Daily Mail, Hackman left his $80 million fortune to Arakawa. Per TMZ, Hackman’s three children from his previous marriage to Faye Maltese—Christopher, 65; Elizabeth, 62; and Leslie, 58—were not named in the will.

TMZ reports that the French Connection star made Arakawa the sole beneficiary of his assets in 1995. Per Page Six, the last time Hackman updated his will was in 2005. In her will, Arakawa left her assets to Hackman, but specified that if she and Hackman died within 90 days of each other, her assets would be designated to a trust and distributed to charity after settling any outstanding medical debts.

The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator determined that Arakawa, 65, likely died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare and potentially fatal disease carried by rodents, on February 11. Hackman, 95, likely died a week later, on February 18, from cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s as a contributing factor. On February 26, New Mexico authorities found their bodies along with one deceased dog in their $3.8 million dollar Santa Fe home.

Although he reportedly did not include his children in his will, Hackman’s estate may still go to his children because they are his most direct living heirs. According to TMZ, Christopher has retained the services of prominent California trust and estate attorney Andrew M. Katzenstein, suggesting he may challenge the will. Vanity Fair has reached out to Katzenstein for comment.

Representatives for the estate of Hackman and Arakawa have reportedly filed paperwork in New Mexico seeking to prevent the Sheriff’s Office from releasing body camera footage or any other photo or video evidence of the death scene, citing Gene and Betsy’s right to privacy. “During their lifetime, the Hackmans placed significant value on their privacy and took affirmative, vigilant steps to safeguard their privacy,” read a petition obtained by People. “Mr. and Mrs. Hackman were members of this community, not part-time casual residents. The Personal Representative seeks to continue to preserve the privacy of the Hackmans following their tragic death and support the family’s constitutional right to remembrance and desire to grieve in peace.”

At one point, Hackman had a strained relationship with his son. “I lost touch with my son in terms of advice early on. Maybe it had to do with being gone so much, doing location films when he was at an age where he needed support and guidance,” the actor said in a 2011 interview with GQ. The Daily Mail reports that Hackman grew closer with his children and their kids later in life, but had gone months without seeing Leslie, the family member who had the most contact with both him and Arakawa. Arakawa had no children of her own.

From humble beginnings, Hackman amassed his fortune as one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors, winning two Academy Awards, for The French Connection (1971) and Unforgiven (1992). He married Arakawa, a classical pianist, in 1991, and retired from acting in 2004. He moved to Santa Fe in the 1980s and lived there with Arakawa full time.