Gene Hackman’s $80Million Estate in Turmoil as Major U.S. Bank Claims Tragic Hollywood Icon and Wife Left Behind Eye-Watering Credit Card Debt
Hackman and Arakawa were found dead inside their $3.3million Santa Fe compound last month.
July 11 2025, Published 6:01 p.m. ET
The estates for late actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, are being hit with creditors’ claims over alleged debt the couple left behind at the time of their deaths, RadarOnline.com has confirmed.
According to court documents, the legendary actor’s estate was served with a claim by Citibank over money owed on a Mastercard. The bank demanded $98,345.29, per paperwork filed July 1.
Betsy Arakawa Owed Money to a Second Bank
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa married in 1991.
Around the same time, a claim was filed against Arakawa’s estate over an alleged $4,329.75 owed on an account with Bank of America. The total for the claims comes to $102,675.04.
Hackman’s estate was reportedly worth an estimated $80 million.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Hackman and Arakawa were found dead inside their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on February 26. Officials determined that Arakawa’s death occurred one week before Hackman died.
Gene Hackman Died One Week After His Wife
Gene Hackman retired from acting in 2004.
The chief medical examiner for New Mexico, Dr. Heather Jarrell, listed Arakawa’s cause of death as “natural” and due to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. She believed Arakawa died on February 11.
Hackman is believed to have died on February 18. His cause of death was ruled to be hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease listed as a contributing factor.
The Couple's Dog Also Died
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Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's bodies were found inside their New Mexico home.
“On February 26, 2025, at approximately 1:45 p.m., Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased,” a rep for the sheriff’s office told Us. “Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time, however, [the] exact cause of death has not been determined.”
A sheriff’s report noted that officers found the two bodies, along with the couple’s dogs, in the home.
The report stated, “The front door of the residence unsecured and opened, deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak.
