Most countries have a famous kidnapping.
On 10 July , in Rome, John Paul Getty III, grandson of oil billionaire and renowned scrooge, J. Paul Getty, was kidnapped and a ransom of $17 million was demanded over the phone for his safe return. Not one willing to part with his hard-earned money in a hurry, his grandfather refused to pay any ransom, "on principle." In November , an envelope containing a lock of hair and a human ear was delivered to a daily newspaper. The note attached said, "This is Paul's ear. If we don't get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits." Still reluctant to part with the ransom, Getty senior negotiated a deal and got his grandson back for about $2 million. John Paul Getty III was found alive in southern Italy shortly after the ransom was paid. His kidnappers were never caught.
In America's most famous case of kidnapping and "crime of the century" in , the baby son of the world's greatest living hero,�Charles A. Lindbergh, was abducted from Lindbergh's New Jersey home by an intruder using a crude, home-made ladder to gain entry to the second story bedroom. A ransom note was left on the wind
The True Story Behind John Paul Getty III's Kidnapping
Following the kidnapping, the 'Ndrangheta first contacted John Paul Getty III's mother, Gail, a few days after he first went missing. However, she didn't exhibit the blind panic that many mothers would feel on receiving a ransom call, telling the San Francisco Chronicle: "I think the phone call was some sort of a joke" (via "Uncommon Youth: The Gilded Times and Tragic Times of John Paul Getty III" by Charles Fox).
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She soon realized, however, that the call was serious, and in the days that followed reports emerged that the Getty family was moving toward a deal to secure the teenager's release. However, this all came crashing down when Gail — who received little money from the Getty family after her separation from John Paul Getty II — was unable to meet the kidnapper's demand of a $17 million ransom (per Wanted in Rome). She was told to get the money from her ex-husband, who lived in London, England, but he too claimed poverty. The only person who seemed able to pay the ransom was the boy's grandfather, the world's richest man, J. Paul Getty. But the patriarch made headlines when he flatly refused to pay up.
(CBS/AP) J. Paul Getty III, the troubled grandson of one of the world's richest men, who lost an ear in a grisly kidnapping as a teenager and suffered a devastating stroke as a young man, has died. He was
His son, actor Balthazar Getty, confirmed that his father had died last Saturday at his Buckinghamshire estate northwest of London surrounded by his family. The cause of death was not disclosed, but Getty had been gravely ill for some time.
Despite being in a wheelchair for decades, the father of two and grandfather of six "never let his handicap keep him from living life to the fullest and he was an inspiration to all of us, showing us how to stand up to all adversity," Balthazar Getty said in a statement Tuesday issued by his publicist. "We will miss him terribly."
Getty's life captured the turmoil of his times. Born in November to vast oil wealth in the billions of dollars, his life was upended when he was kidnapped at age 16 in Rome.
To press their demands for ransom, his captors cut off part of his ear and mailed it to the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. The mutilation reportedly helped sway Getty's family, who had been reluctant to pay. Still, the teenager spent
Italian gangsters kidnapped J. Paul Getty’s grandson in , but the stingy billionaire refused to pay a penny of ransom
When Italian gangsters abducted a grandson of the richest man in the world, they thought they’d seized an easy fortune. What they didn’t realize was the depth of J. Paul Getty’s stinginess. The oil baron billionaire flat-out refused the demand for ransom, saying, “I have 14 other grandchildren, and if I pay one penny now, then I’ll have 14 kidnapped grandchildren.”
After five months, Getty reluctantly agreed to contribute some cash to a reduced ransom—and to lend the balance at an interest rate of 4 percent to the boy’s parents—only after the gangsters had cut off his grandson’s ear and mailed it to a newspaper.
This shockingly sordid tale of s greed and misfortune, which played out in newspapers, was recently revisited in the film All the Money in the World, starring Christopher Plummer as J. Paul Getty and Charlie Plummer (no relation) as his grandson. Christopher Plummer, who was a last-minute replacement for the disgraced Kevin Spacey, received an Academy Award nomination, becoming at age 88 the oldest ever acting Oscar nominee.
In , John Paul Getty III
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