The Getty family is known for their immense wealth, but they’re also known for their misfortune.
According to the Getty Museum, J. Paul Getty began working with his father in the oil fields of Oklahoma and made his fortune in the oil industry.
According to sources, the businessman negotiated a 30-year oil concession between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in the late 1940s, giving Getty Oil a monopoly on the region’s oil. His gamble paid off in the 1950s, and in 1957 Fortune magazine named him the “world’s richest man.”
Wealthy American oil tycoon John Paul Getty refused to pay the ransom when his grandson, John Paul Getty III, was kidnapped on July 10, 1973. (Getty Images | Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The disappearance of Charlie Ross, the first known kidnapping-for-ransom victim in the United States.
With his wealth came those who sought a share of it. On July 10, 1973, John Paul Getty’s 16-year-old grandson, John Paul Getty III, was kidnapped and held for a ransom that his grandfather refused to pay.
His months in captivity were harrowing, and although he was found alive, the tragedy remains with his family.
- How old was John Paul Getty III when he was kidnapped?
- What did the kidnappers do to John Paul Getty III?
- What happened to John Paul Getty III after his kidnapping?
1. How old was John Paul Getty III when he was kidnapped?
John Paul Getty III was 16 years old when he was kidnapped on July 10, 1973, after he had been kicked out of private school and was living alone in Rome.
Two days after her son disappeared, his mother, Abigail “Gail” Harris, received a ransom note demanding $17 million for the safe return of her son.
John Paul Getty III’s mother, Abigail “Gail” Harris, received a letter two days after he disappeared demanding $17 million to return him. (Vittoriano Rastelli/Corbis via Getty Images)
At the time, some family members and investigators believed the kidnapping was a hoax, perhaps orchestrated by the boy himself to extort money from his wealthy grandfather.
The head of the family refused to pay the ransom, famously stating, “If I pay one penny now, 14 of my grandchildren will be kidnapped.”
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The ransom was never paid, and John Paul Getty III remained in captivity for five months until an agreement was reached.
2. What did the kidnappers do to John Paul Getty III?
According to The New York Times, several months after his captivity, John Paul Getty III’s kidnappers cut off his ear and mailed it, along with a lock of his hair, to a newspaper in Rome.
Attached to the severed ear was a note that read, “This is Paul’s ear. If the money isn’t raised in 10 days, the other ear will get paid. That means it will come in small amounts.”
Shortly after this grisly mailing, J. Paul Getty became involved in the case.
According to John Pearson’s Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty, J. Paul Getty paid $2.2 million of the negotiated $3 million ransom because it was the maximum his accountants claimed to be tax deductible.
The remainder of the ransom was paid by the boy’s father, J. Paul Getty Jr., with money the family patriarch had borrowed at 4% interest.
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John Paul Getty III was found alone at a gas station on December 15, 2002, after the ransom was paid. According to The New York Times, nine men were arrested in connection with the crime, but only two were convicted.
3. What happened to John Paul Getty III after his kidnapping?
After his kidnapping, John Paul Getty III struggled with drug addiction.
In 1981, he suffered a stroke following a drug overdose that left him paralyzed.
John Paul Getty III died on February 5, 2011 after suffering a paralyzed stroke following a drug overdose. (Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)
He was cared for and assisted by his mother until her death on February 5, 2011, at the age of 54.
In the years following his death, a number of films and television series were produced that placed the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III at the center of their stories.
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In 2017, Ridley Scott’s film “All the Money in the World” was released, followed the following year by a TV drama series called “Trust,” also inspired by the Getty family and the kidnapping case.
