Report: Grandson of Getty oil founder J. Paul Getty found dead at his LA home

REUTERS/Sam Mircovich

This is an aerial view of the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California photographed May 9, 2007.

The grandson of billionaire Getty oil founder J. Paul Getty, Andrew Getty, was found dead on Tuesday at his Los Angeles area home, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The cause of death for Andrew Getty at his home in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles was not immediately clear.

A Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman told Reuters that detectives were conducting a death investigation at a home in the Hollywood Hills, where a white male was found unconscious and not breathing.

NBC, citing sources familiar with the investigation, reports there were indications that the man "is some relationship to the Getty family."

Getty, 48, is an heir to his grandfather's fortune. Forbes lists the Getty family as the 54th wealthiest family in America, with a net worth of $5 billion.

Law enforcement sources told NBC and the LA Times that the case is being investigated by the LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division, which handles high profile cases.

The LA Times notes that Andrew Getty "purchased the 70-year-old Hollywood Hills villa of three-time Oscar-winning film composer Miklos Rozsa" in 1996.

Getty's grandfather, J. Paul Getty, merged several smaller oil companies into Getty Oil in the 1960s.

At one time one of America's richest men. He was also an avid art collector who established the trust that funds the J. Paul Getty Museum and several other institutions.

(Reuters reporting by Dan Whitcomb)