If you have never Googled J Paul Getty III, you should. His life was one big mess and much of it I think stems from his kidnapping when he was 16 years old and had part of his ear chopped off to show his captors were serious. The father of Balthazar Getty died on Saturday in London and for much of his life after his kidnapping he spent confined in a wheelchair after a stroke left him paralyzed. After his family paid almost $3M to get him released, Getty went on a drinking and drug spree that was epic in its proportions. While in rehab for his abuse, he suffered the stroke.
When he was kidnapped, his father, who was the richest man in the world at the time and had a payphone in his house because he was also the cheapest thought the kidnapping was a hoax, hence the ear being chopped off.
correction- grandfather was the one who paid- not his father, father was BROKE.
ReplyDeleteI used to follow his story when I was a regular National Enquirer reader as a kid. Sad tale, sad ending.
ReplyDeleteSad...very sad.
ReplyDeleteYep, the grandfather paid, albeit VERY reluctantly as he thought it was a trick by his family members to get at his money. This is a miserable family, from beginning to end.
ReplyDeleteDidn't the grandfather 'loan' the ransom money to III's father, and made him pay it back with interest?
ReplyDeleteI hope he finally finds peace, poor soul.
I wonder if Sienna Miller is making an exit strategy from Jude Law to Balthazar?
ReplyDelete@Cindy -
ReplyDeleteWas just about to post that.
Yes, 4% interest according to Wikipedia.
As well as negotiating the ransom down to what would be tax deductible, and not a penny more.
You're right, Cindy, I think he did want it back with interest. Miserable asshole. Apparently Balthazar's parents married in Sienna, too. Weird.
ReplyDeleteLOL @ feraltart.
ReplyDeleteWhat the fuck does that last paragraph say? In fact, I can barely decipher the entire post.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletechihuahuense - The last paragraph is inaccurate, so don't even bother. Go with the obit in the NY Times or LA Times.
ReplyDeleteI remember when JPG was kidknapped and his ear was cut off. I was a kid and was terrified for him.
No wonder Balthazar is such a goddamned mess.
I believe the ransom was $3 million and, after receipt of the ear, the Grandfather paid $2.2 million (the maximum that would be tax deductible according to his advisors). He lent the Father the remaining $0.8 million at 4% interest. Apparently when the Grandson was released it was suggested he call his Grandfather and thank him for the ransom money. The Grandfather wouldn't take the call!
ReplyDeleteHowever, while the Grandfather was unappealing, he wasn't stupid. Firstly, he pointed out that he had fourteen grandchildren and that the minute kidnappers knew he would pay a ransom he would have "fourteen kidnapped grandchildren". Secondly, both the Father and Grandson were heavily into drugs. The Grandfather had cut off the money because it didn't see any reason to have the money he worked for go up their noses. There was a very real probablity that the "kidnapping" started out as an issue of unpaid drug debts.
As much fun as it would be to have a fortune in cash, I am so so glad that my fortune is in laughter, love, friends, and my family. Yes, my bills are paid, we have food in the house and I am driving my van that has almost 90000 miles on it, but my fortune lies elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteSorry for his kids though.
Moosefan you couldn't of said it any better. Many rich people will say at the end of their life their most happiest is when they were starting out and were poor.
ReplyDeleteMoney makes people insane and i also am just happy with what I have not what I haven't got.
right on, Moosefan! That makes me smile!
ReplyDelete@feraltart FTW!!
ReplyDeletePeople are reporting Jude and Sienna broke up two weeks ago!!
Run Balthazar Run!!
I thought Jude and Sienna just bought a house together.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome.
ReplyDeleteI was a kid, too, who followed the story. Then next year Patty Hearst was kidnapped. I was terrified of being kidnapped! No one bothered to point out that my parents, a police officer and a housewife, weren't exactly in the Getty/Hearst class.
ReplyDeleteMy father once delivered groceries in the Ft.worth/Dallas area in the late 1950's. He was told to deliver a fruit basket to a patient in a hospital. Dad walked into a large suite-like private room and saw an elderly man in the bed. Dad said, "Hey, your friends sent you a nice fruit basket" to try and cheer the old man up. The man replied, "I have no friends" and turned over and faced the wall.
ReplyDeleteWhen he was leaving, a nurse came up to him and said do you know who that was? It was Sid Richardson, one of the wealthiest Texas oilmen in the world.
My dad told me this after recovering from pneumonia and had dozens of friends call on him. He can still picture the sad old man with no flowers and no friends but millions of dollars and one fruit basket.
/end of long novel, lol
aw, sad Momster....unfortunately I see lots of people in the hospital with no one visiting them, calling, etc. Don't know if it is their fault, the family's/friends' fault or both, and don't care, but it is sad.
ReplyDeleteDang, Momster! That's sad!
ReplyDeleteThis story is sad too.
Moosefan nailed it.
Chihuahuense, when my uncle died the doctors and nurses thanked my aunts and uncles for coming every day. He was only alone at nighttime. They said they see so many patients who either get very few visits or none, then when the patient dies the family cries or some get angry and ask what happened. If they showed up, they would know. It's sad when that happens.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I remember the ear incident, and it freaked me out, too.
The paying ransom thing is difficult because letting it be known that you'll pay ransom can put other people at risk.
ReplyDeleteWhen my brother went off to work for an NGO overseas, we knew in advance that if anything happened and he got kidnapped there was going to be no paying ransom, no ifs ands or buts about it. The organization sent their people into remote and not exactly stable parts of the world and the biggest way they kept their people safe was to make it clear that they had a strict no-ransom policy. If they were to start paying ransom, it would make their people a target.
@shakey--Oh, yeah, there are some whose family members visit a lot, but more often, not. That's sweet of your family--very unselfish of them :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent story for those that want to read it
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1354353/John-Paul-Getty-III-dies-54-paralysed-30-years.html
His Grandfather said at the time of the "ransom" demand. "I have 14 other grandchildren and if I pay this ransom I will have 14 kidnapped grandchildren."