What Was Betsy Arakawa's Net Worth? Gene Hackman's Wife Was a Classical Pianist

Betsy Arakawa was working part-time at a gym when she met Gene Hackman.

Jennifer Tisdale - Author
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Published Feb. 27 2025, 11:08 a.m. ET

According to The New York Times, Gene Hackman met his second wife in 1984 while she was working part-time at the gym. Betsy Arakawa was 23 at the time and was more than 30 years his junior. Five years later, the couple was living in a two-bedroom adobe house in Santa Fe, N.M.

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A little over 35 years later, they were found dead in their home along with their dog.

Betsy was a classically trained pianist. Being a musician can be a thankless job. What was her net worth? Here's what we know.

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Betsy Arakawa's net worth was probably tied to her husband's.

Although we can't confirm what Betsy's net worth was, we can assume it was the same as her husband's as the two were together for more than half of her life. His net worth was reportedly $80 million, which probably stretched pretty far in Santa Fe. As far as Betsy's career goes, by all accounts, she took a step back to focus on her marriage and getting to know her adult stepchildren.

When the couple met, Gene was still married to his first wife, Faye Maltese. Despite the overlap, the actor assured the Sun Sentinel that he did not leave his wife for a younger woman. "We just drifted apart," he said. "We lost sight of each other. When you work in this business, marriage takes a great deal of work and love."

In April 1990, Gene and Betsy's home was featured in Architectural Digest. Originally built in the 1950s, Santa Fe architect Stephen Samuelson said it was "horrible" but was on a great site and had a foundation that was "well placed on the land." Gene was working, so Betsy spent much of her time on-site taking pictures she could send to him. The couple also sourced furniture from antique stores or auctions. After all was said and done, Stephen said it was both "massive and cozy."

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