J Paul Getty III Kidnapping: The Getty Family ”Curse” & NON-Creep Estelle Getty

What a Creep
Season 22, Episode 10
The Kidnapping of J. Paul Getty III

In 1973, at the age of 16, John Paul Getty III was kidnapped in Italy. The kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of $17 million, but J. Paul Getty, the boy's grandfather and one of the wealthiest men in the world at the time, initially refused to pay. The kidnappers then sent a lock of the young Getty's hair and his severed right ear to a newspaper to pressure the family.

Eventually, J. Paul Getty agreed to pay a reduced ransom amount, and his grandson was released after being a captive for several months. This story inspired a feature film by Ridley Scott and a ten-part series featuring our favorite Hollywood comeback story--Brendan Fraser. This story has it all--miserable rich people, hippies, Italian mafiosos, and strained family relationships—trigger warning: addiction & kidnapping.
Sources for this episode:

• All That’s Interesting
• The Daily Beast
• Town & Country magazine
• New York Post
• New York Times
• Vanity Fair
• People magazine
• All the Money in the World, directed by Ridley Scott
• Painfully Rich by John Pearson
• People magazine 2
• J. Paul Getty Wikipedia
• The Gentleman’s Journal
• NPR
• Time
• Trust on FX
• Growing Up Getty: The Story of America’s Most Unconventional Dynasty by James Reginato

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