January 12, 2006 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The Council on Foundations has placed the J. Paul Getty Trust on probation while it seeks more information from the trust regarding charges of fiscal misconduct — marking the first time the council has taken such action against one of its members.
The trust will remain on probation through February 20, unless it provides the council with documentation refuting the misconduct claims, which arose from articles published in 2004 by the Los Angeles Times.
Depending on what additional information the council receives from the trust, it could lift the probation at that time or impose further sanctions, including revoking its membership, according to Jeff Martin, a spokesman for the organization. The council represents more than 2,000 of the nation’s biggest grant makers.
The Times published articles raising questions about compensation and perquisites provided to the trust’s chief executive, first-class travel and other expenses incurred by his wife, and a real-estate deal involving the trust and a prominent Los Angeles philanthropist.
The trust is the wealthiest operating foundation in the United States, with assets of $8.6-billion. It runs the J. Paul Getty Museum, in Los Angeles, in addition to other programs.
Officials of the trust have denied any wrongdoing.
Seeking Data
At the council’s request, the trust provided some information about the allegations in December. In a letter to John Biggs, chairman of the Getty board, Steve Gunderson, the president of the Council on Foundations, noted that the “information provided to date is incomplete.” Mr. Martin said the trust “is trying to honor our need for information and their need to work with the California attorney general.”
Ron Hartwig, the trust’s vice president for communications, said in a written statement: “We are working with the council to address its questions. We look forward to cooperating with them and reaching a satisfactory outcome.”
The council’s decision to place the trust on probation is the first time it has taken action since it issued a revised set of ethical guidelines in June. Those guidelines established a policy for sanctioning members that act illegally or unethically.
“Probation means the organization’s conduct is being watched carefully to determine the appropriate next steps regarding the standing of the organization,” Mr. Martin said. “Those could range from finding that the trust has appropriately refuted the allegations to a finding that it hasn’t, which could result in revocation of their membership.”
