The Getty Family’s Trust Issues

Plus: Russia's new commander in Ukraine; “Battle Royale” video games; and New York theatre is back. View in browser | Update your preferences Tuesday, January 17, 2023 In today’s newsletter, how to stay rich, and then: • Russia’s new commander in Ukraine • The creation of “Battle Royale” • New York theatre is back The Getty Family’s Trust Issues Heirs to an iconic fortune sought out a wealth manager who would assuage their progressive consciences. Now their dispute is exposing dynastic secrets. Illustration by Cristiana Couceiro; Source photographs from Getty The Getty name was to postwar Americans what Musk and Bezos might be in our time. It was “a reigning symbol of what money can do,” Evan Osnos writes in this week’s issue, in a stunning reported piece that reveals the financial secrets of one of America’s wealthiest families. Osnos examines a legal battle between the granddaughters of the oil tycoon J. Paul Getty and their former financial manager, Marlena Sonn, who, for nearly eight years, “served the Getty sisters as an adviser and a confidante, until the relationship underwent a spectacular rupture.” Along the way, Osnos provides a clear explanation of some of the complex techniques being used during the current “golden age of élite tax avoidance,” and explores the careful dance that the richest of the rich perform to avoid the appearance of having any income at all. The piece—filled with vivid details, including the story of a kidnapping and a severed ear, and parting messages between one of the Getty granddaughters and Sonn that went from “I love you” to “I now don’t trust you in any regard”—paints a troubling portrait of wealth and society today. Osnos asks, “What motivates those who already have so much to strategize so hard to have a little more?” Read the story Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » From the News Desk Q. & A. How Russia’s New Commander in Ukraine Could Change the War Why has Vladimir Putin promoted Valery Gerasimov, who helped plan the disastrous initial invasion last year, to lead the fight? By Isaac Chotiner Editor’s Pick Culture Desk How “Battle Royale” Took Over Video Games With a simple, ingenious formula, a Japanese novel has inspired some of the most successful games in history. By Simon Parkin Culture Dept. The Theatre New York’s Theatre Festivals Imagine a World After Mankind Recent shows’ visions of the future haven’t exactly been post-apocalyptic, with the violence and darkness that term implies. Instead, they have delighted in our disappearance, savored it. By Helen Shaw The Musical Life The Women of Wet Leg How Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, two friends from the Isle of Wight, got a music career and five Grammy nominations by fixating on an old chaise longue. By John Seabrook Two Wheels Dept. The Daredevil Behind Citi Bike Boyz Jerome Peel’s urban biking life requires an unusual set of supplies. Plywood ramp? Check. Box cutter? Check. Epsom salts? Check. By Adam Iscoe Cover Story Pascal Campion, the artist behind this week’s cover, titled “Daybreak,” discusses creativity, solitude, and paying special attention to light. “I was after the excitement and promise of early morning, when the world still feels like a blank canvas,” he says. “In those moments, you feel as though the world belongs only to you—and then another person appears, and then another, and soon the world is awake and filled with sounds and colors.” Fun & Games Dept. Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz Can you guess the notable person in six clues or fewer? By Liz Maynes-Aminzade Daily Shouts Netflix’s (Less Popular) Shows About Ex-Royals An eternity of hanging around with the pharaoh and fending off grave robbers got old for this prince and princess. By Adam Douglas Thompson Crossword A Moderately Challenging Puzzle Bean that can be used to make falafel: four letters. By Patrick Berry Daily Cartoon Tuesday, January 17th By Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell P.S. The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, or Davos for short, after the town in the Swiss Alps where it takes place, began yesterday. Nick Paumgarten attended the meeting in 2012, and wrote that it was, “fundamentally, an exercise in corporate speed-dating” where an “anxiety of exclusion pervades.” Consider the badges that everyone wears: “Every encounter begins with an unabashed glance or two down at the other’s badge. It is Davos Man’s defining gesture. So frequently did gazes slip to reëxamine my badge that I came to know what it must be like to have cleavage.” Today’s newsletter was written by Jessie Li. Thanks for reading. Let us know your thoughts about today’s edition. Plus, browse more newsletters and invite a friend to sign up for The Daily. You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for The Daily from The New Yorker. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2023. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.