The fire in Pacific Palisades, a Los Angeles district in January 2025 sowed panic while reaching the outskirts of Villa Getty. The latter, founded in 1974, has however remained intact, with the exception of its surrounding vegetation, thanks to latest generation anti-fire preventive devices. But to anticipate new risks, the Getty Trust Foundation, which manages the Villa Getty, has decided to sell bonds up to $ 500 million (around 465 million euros).
An obligation is a financial instrument by which an organization borrows money from investors, with the commitment to reimburse them with interest to a determined deadline.
These funds will help better protect the museum against natural disasters such as fires and earthquakes. They will also finance maintenance, the acquisition of new boilers, irrigation and surveillance systems, as well as the installation of fire -fighting equipment.
This work will strengthen the already well -protected building, equipped with a 4 million liter water tank, a double -walled construction, a stone roof and an advanced smoke detection system. Regular brushcutting is also carried out before the fire season.
The emission of bonds allows the Getty Trust to guarantee the safety of its buildings while mastering the growing costs of insurance, without having to draw directly from its financial reserves. In the Los Angeles valleys, exposed to climate risks, insurance premiums increase, making coverage more difficult in the most vulnerable areas.
Getty Trust is a private foundation created in 1953 by the eponymous oil billionaire. It brings together the Getty museum – including the Getty Center in Brentwood and the Villa Getty in the Palisades -, the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute and the Getty Foundation. Villa Getty houses some 44,000 objects of Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiques, dating from 6,500 BC to 400 AD closed as a result of the fire, it should reopen in June.
