Random Thoughts
The Getty Kidnapping, part 3
March 26, 2021
When John Paul Getty III was kidnapped in Rome in 1973, his captors demanded a ransom of $17 million. Young Getty’s father, John Paul II, prevailed upon family patriarch J. Paul Getty to give in to the kidnappers’ wishes.
The elder Getty, reputedly the world’s richest person, refused. So, the criminals who held young Getty captive decided to begin torturing him as a way to put pressure on the family to pay the ransom. They cut off the young man’s right ear and mailed it to an Italian newspaper!
Finally, J. Paul Getty began negotiating with the kidnappers and ultimately paid a ransom of $2.2 mi...
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