Getty Museum to Sell $500 Million of Debt for Fire Protection

One of California’s most famed art institutions, the Getty, is turning to the bond market for $500 million to help preserve its masterpieces as the state prepares for another fire-prone summer.

The J. Paul Getty Trust is expected to sell the top-rated taxable bonds on April 3. Proceeds will be used in part to bolster the institution’s defenses in the event of another disaster and includes investments in new boilers, irrigation and surveillance systems, as well as water storage and firefighting equipment, according to bond documents.

Funds will also be directed toward educational and outreach programs as well as general purposes, the documents show. A representative for the trust declined to comment.

The trust, which oversees the vast collection of the late oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, is making its preparations as homes and institutions across California face a third straight year of elevated fire risk.

The nonprofit, which was founded in 1953, operates out of two locations in the Los Angeles area; the landmark Getty Center which spans 110 acres in Brentwood and the smaller Getty Villa in the Pacific Palisades near Malibu. The sites escaped some of the most destructive wildfires in the state’s history relatively unscathed.

That both campuses survived the fires without damage to buildings or its art collection — a trove that includes Van Gogh’s Irises as well as works from the likes of Rembrandt to photographer Alfred Stieglitz — is attributed to structural defenses that were incorporated into their designs, ongoing maintenance, and a long-standing fire response plan. Individual staffers also patrolled museum grounds armed with fire extinguishers.

The Getty Center was closed for about three weeks following the January fire before it reopened. The Getty Villa remains closed and is expected to reopen in June after cleaning is completed and access to the site improves.

Museums located at both the Getty Center and Villa are free of charge and attract millions of visitors each year. The center is also home to the trust’s research and conservation institutes, and the Getty Foundation which provides grants and programs to individual and organizations to support the study of art history.

The trust’s investments totaled $8.8 billion in December, while the bulk of its revenue comes from investment income, according to an investor presentation. Credit firms S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Ratings both assigned the bonds top grades.