- The will of late actor Gene Hackman didn’t include his kids, reports say
- Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa passed away in late February
- Hollywood icon left behind a fortune worth $80million
How many kids does Gene Hackman have? As reports swirl about the Hollywood icon’s will, many outlets have suggested his children could lose out on his fortune.
Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and a family dog were found dead at the actor’s Sante Fe home in February 2025.
Initially, it was unclear what might have happened to the pair. The French Connection actor was believed to have been in declining health and living with Alzheimer’s disease.
Read more: Gene Hackman and his wife named each other in their wills
Meanwhile, Hackman’s 65-year-old wife and carer was believed to have been in good health. Together, this added more fuel to the mystery surrounding the pair’s passing.
After extensive investigations, a necropsy revealed that Hackman’s condition did indeed play a part in the actor’s death. Authorities confirmed that Hackman likely died from heart disease which was complicated from Alzheimer’s.
Read more: Bruce Willis’ wife makes plea after Gene Hackman death
Meanwhile, it was revealed that Arakawa passed away from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare illness transmitted via rodents.
In mid-March 2025, reports started to emerge about Hackman’s will and estate. It’s one that’s reported to be worth around $80 million. However, according to many outlets, Hackman’s children were absent from his final wishes.
Instead, reports suggest the star left everything to his wife, with Arakawa leaving everything to Hackman.
Gene Hackman children: How many kids does the actor have?
Hackman has three children with his ex-wife Faye Maltese. The eldest is 65-year-old Christopher, followed by 62-year-old Elizabeth, and 58-year-old Leslie.
Hackman was married to Maltese from 1956 until 1986. In 1991, The Conversation star married classical pianist Arakawa after several years of partnership. Together, the couple lived in New Mexico until their deaths in 2025.
Hackman was believed to have had an unusual relationship with his kids due to his work, which frequently took him away to movie sets while they were growing up.
“You become very selfish as an actor,” Hackman explained to The New York Times in the late 80s. “Even though I had a family, I took jobs that would separate us for three or four months at a time. The temptations in that, the money and recognition, it was too much for the poor boy in me.”
What will happen to Gene Hackman’s will?
While Hackman’s children have yet to comment on their father’s estate, the BBC suggests that they could be able to contest the content of Hackman and Arakawa’s wills.
Tre Lovell, An attorney based in California, said Hackman’s estate could default to his children, provided there are no other names listed in the will.
“The estate will actually be probated in accordance with intestate succession laws and the children would be lawfully next in line to inherit,” Lovell told the BBC.
The same outlet said Hackman’s children might be forced to prove that their father’s will is not invalid due to the timing of his death. It is believed that Arakawa died 10 days prior to Hackman, with her will leaving her entire estate to her husband.
However, it contained a provision that if the pair passed away within 90 days of each other, her estate would be transported into a trust and later donated to charity.
