John paul getty iii biography

JohnPaulGettyIII

Son of Eugene Paul Getty KBE and [private mother (1930s - unknown)]

Brother of [private sister (1950s - unknown)], Mark Getty KBE and [private sister (1960s - unknown)]

[spouse(s) unknown]

Father of Balthazar Getty

Profile last modified | Created 9 Jan 2019

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Biography

John Paul Getty, III was the grandson of an American oil tycoon, who was kidnapped as a teenager and held for ransom.

He was born on 04 November 1956 in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA and was the eldest of four children of John Paul Getty, Jr. and his first wife, a former water polo champion. He was a grandson of American oil tycoon, J. Paul Getty (1892–1976), who was once the richest man in the world.

His parents relocated their family to Rome, Italy, so his father could run the Italian branch of Getty Oil. When he was eight years old, his parents divorced in 1964 and he remained in Italy with his mother.

After painting an offensive six-foot-high wording in a school hallway, in early 1972, he was expelled from St. George's British International School in Rome, Italy. He lived a bohemian lifestyle and took part in left-wing demonstrations. He had considerable artistic talent and reportedly earned a living making jewelry, selling his paintings and cartoons, and appearing in movies as an extra. The Italian adult magazine "Playmen", paid him $1,000 to appear naked in a spread and on the cover of its August 1973.

According to his girlfriend, when the couple were struggling to make ends meet, he had toyed with the idea of getting himself kidnapped by petty criminals, but he changed his mind when both of them began working as models for photographers. However the kidnappers continued following him.

When he was 16 years old, he was kidnapped in the Piazza Farnese in Rome, Italy at 3 a.m. on 10 July 1973. He was blindfolded, transported, and imprisoned in a cave in Calabria, Italy. The kidnappers issued a ransom note demanding $17 million in exchange for his safe return. However, the family suspected a plot by the rebellious teenager to extract money from his grandfather.

In November 1973, a daily Italian newspaper received an envelope containing a lock of hair, a human ear, and a threat from the kidnappers to mutilate Paul further unless they were paid $3.2 million. His grandfather finally agreed to help out with the ransom. Shortly afterward, he was found alive on 15 December 1973 at a petrol station of Lauria, Potenza Province, Italy.

Nine of the kidnappers were apprehended, including two high-ranking members of the 'Ndrangheta, an organized crime organization in Calabria, Italy. Two of the kidnappers were convicted and sent to prison; the others were acquitted for lack of evidence, including the 'Ndrangheta bosses. Most of the ransom money was never recovered.

In 1974 he got married at the age of 17. They had a son, (Paul) Balthazar Getty^[1] and divorced in 1993.

In 1977 he had an operation to rebuild the ear that his kidnappers had cut off.

He was permanently affected by his kidnapping and suffered from drug and alcohol addiction during the years that followed. In April 1981 he drank a Valium, methadone, and alcohol cocktail which caused liver failure and a stroke, leaving him quadriplegic, partially blind, and unable to speak. Afterwards, his mother cared for him, and she sued his father for $28,000 a month to cover his medical needs. He never fully recovered and remained severely disabled for the rest of his life. Besides caring for him, his mother she also played a part in the upbringing of his son. ^[2] helped care for him and his son, Balthazar.

After a long illness he died at age 54 on 05 February 2011 at his father's estate at Wormsley Park, Buckinghamshire, England.

Sources

1. ↑https://ethnicelebs.com/balthazar-getty
2. ↑Where Is ... Getty Now? John Paul Getty III's Mother Features Heavily In 'Trust' by Caitlin Gallagher on 08 Apr 2018

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