John Gilbert Getty dead: Heir to Getty family $5bn fortune dies aged 52

'John was a talented musician who loved rock and roll. He will be deeply missed,' said his father Gordon Getty

John Gilbert Getty with his daughter Ivy (ivygetty/Instagram)

John Gilbert Getty, one of the heirs to the Getty family's estimated $5 billion fortune, has died aged 52, a family spokesperson said.

Gilbert Getty, grandson of the billionaire oil tycoon J Paul Getty, was found unresponsive at a hotel room in San Antonio, Texas on Friday.

The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear and an autopsy has not yet taken place. Foul play is not suspected.  

"With a heavy heart, Gordon Getty announces the death of his son, John Gilbert Getty," a spokesperson for his father said in a statement.

"John leaves behind his daughter, Ivy Getty, whom he loved beyond measure, and his brothers Peter and Billy.

"His brother, Andrew, predeceased John. John’s mother, Ann Gilbert Getty, passed this September.

“John was a talented musician who loved rock and roll. He will be deeply missed.”

The Gettys, once one of the richest families in America, have faced a number of tragic deaths of family members.

John Gilbert Getty’s brother Andrew was found dead at his Los Angeles home in 2015.  

The Los Angeles County coroner's office found that he died from intestinal bleeding and had methamphetamine in his system. 

The siblings' mother Ann Getty died from a heart attack at her San Francisco home this past September.

John Gilbert Getty was the cousin of J Paul Getty III, who was kidnapped as a teenager in 1973. A drug overdose caused him to have a life-changing stroke in 1981 and he died in 2011 aged 54.

John Gilbert Getty's sister-in-law Talitha Pol died following a heroin overdose in 1971, People reported.

“My father was awesome - coolest man to ever land on this planet and I will forever be the proudest daughter,"  John Gilbert Getty's daughter Ivy said in a tribute.

“Love you so much Dad....life is cruel sometimes.... I have not one, but two guardian angels watching over me now...here are some of my favorite pictures of him (and selfishly a couple of us).”