1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,800 Speaker 1: A lot of us have been watching the anguishing ordeal 2 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: Savannah Guthrie and her family have been going through in 3 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:08,639 Speaker 1: the kidnapping of her mom, Nancy Guthrie, and it make 4 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:12,520 Speaker 1: me think about another abduction that transfixed the nation just 5 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: over fifty years ago. In this case, there was a 6 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: very different response from the family. It's the nineteen seventy 7 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: three kidnapping of John Paul Getty. IID I'm Patti Steele. 8 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: The horrifying life and death of an impossibly rich but 9 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: very sad kid. That's next on the backstory. We're back 10 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: with the backstory. It is easy to fantasize about growing 11 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: up as the heir to a massive fortune, all the 12 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: fancy houses, cars, clothes, and stuff, but it's not always 13 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 1: the case. Worse yet, when you don't get the love 14 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 1: and support every kid needs. A lot of people just 15 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: don't feel your pain. John Paul Getty third was born 16 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty six. To different ate him from his dad, 17 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:05,119 Speaker 1: John Paul Junior, and his grandfather, the original J. Paul Geddy, 18 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:09,279 Speaker 1: they called him Paul. J. Paul's Senior started making money 19 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: in the nineteen tens from oil leases, and he made 20 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: a boatload of it. At one point he was the 21 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: richest man in the world, but he was also the 22 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: ultimate miser when it came to his five wives and 23 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: most of his children and grandchildren. He won't prove well. 24 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: His fifth wife, Teddy, said J. Paul sor got furious 25 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 1: with her for spending too much money on their six 26 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: year old son, Timmy. Not for toys, not for vacations 27 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: or even school. He was angry about the money she 28 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: spent on doctors. Timmy had a brain tumor, and J. 29 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:45,920 Speaker 1: Paul Senior demanded that his wife pay for the medical 30 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: treatment out of her own very small inheritance. Timmy died 31 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty eight when he was twelve years old, 32 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: and his dad never showed up for the funeral since 33 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: he'd abandoned the family a few years earlier. Teddy finally 34 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: divorced J. Paul that year. So fast forward to the 35 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: late nineteen sixties. J. Paul Third Paul was the son 36 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: of J. Paul Junior, but his home life was pretty useless. 37 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: His parents divorced when he was eight years old, and 38 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: neither one really took a ton of interest in the kids. 39 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: His dad, J. Paul Junior moved to Rome and pretty 40 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: quickly married a Dutch model. The two lived a wildlife. 41 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,920 Speaker 1: They had a son they named Tara Gabriel Galaxy Gramophone Getty, 42 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: but their lives revolved around rock stars like Mick Jagger 43 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: and Keith Richards and an incredibly rich drug scene. J 44 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:41,520 Speaker 1: Paul the Third got literally no direction. At fifteen, his 45 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: stepmother died of an apparent heroin overdose, and his father 46 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: took off for London. Now it's nineteen seventy three. Paul 47 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: had been expelled from his boarding school, and he was 48 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,079 Speaker 1: making money by making and selling his artwork and by 49 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,919 Speaker 1: appearing as an extra in movies. He also got a 50 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: thousand bucks to do a nude spread for an Italian 51 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: magazine called Playman. He wasn't getting much money to live 52 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: on from his dad or his grandfather, so what's a 53 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: kid to do. On July tenth of that year, Paul 54 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 1: was hanging out with a Belgian go go dancer in Rome, 55 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: but he simply vanished. It turns out the Italian mafia 56 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:20,399 Speaker 1: had grabbed him, stuffed him in the back of a van, 57 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: and driven him three hundred and fifty miles south to 58 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,920 Speaker 1: the wilds of Calabria. Italy now comes the cash grab. 59 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:32,399 Speaker 1: Paul's kidnappers want seventeen million bucks to return the teenager 60 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: to his family. Problem is, nobody seems too interested in 61 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: rescuing him or paying the ransom. Now. To be fair, 62 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: some folks speculated that Paul had staged the whole thing 63 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: to get some cash out of his stingy Grandpa, Jay 64 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: Paul Senior and Grandpa thought so too. They said Paul 65 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 1: had even joked about faking a kidnapping, so nobody, including cops, 66 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: took it seriously. Three weeks go by and Paul writes 67 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 1: a letter to his mom begging for help. Time Magazine 68 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: publishes it. It reads, dear mother, I've fallen into the 69 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: hands of kidnappers. Don't let me be killed. Make sure 70 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: that the police do not interfere. You must absolutely not 71 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: take this as a joke. Don't give publicity to my kidnapping. Still, 72 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:21,479 Speaker 1: his grandfather didn't want to pay j Paul was the 73 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: richest man in the world at the time, but still 74 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:27,719 Speaker 1: a notorious cheapskate. He even had a payphone installed in 75 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:30,919 Speaker 1: his London home so guests could make phone calls on 76 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 1: their own time. When it came to paying the huge 77 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: ransom for his grandson. Getty Senior said he had no 78 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,480 Speaker 1: interest in paying because he said it would set a precedent. 79 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: He told the media, if I pay one penny now, 80 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: I'll have fourteen kidnapped grandchildren. Now it's November. Four months 81 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,919 Speaker 1: have gone by, and finally Paul's mother, Gail is furious. 82 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:55,919 Speaker 1: She wants Grandpa Getty to pay the ransom, and she 83 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 1: says so publicly. Again he says no and that but 84 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,719 Speaker 1: the kidnappers over the top. They send a package to 85 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: a Roman newspaper with chilling contents inside a lock of 86 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: Paul's red hair and his severed ear. They enclose a 87 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,800 Speaker 1: note which reads, this is Paul's ear. If we don't 88 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: get some money within ten days, then the other ear 89 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:22,279 Speaker 1: will arrive. In other words, he will arrive back to 90 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: you in little bits. But they did lower their asking price, 91 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: saying they now wanted three point two million dollars. Finally, J. 92 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 1: Paul's Senior is ready to negotiate, but not with the kidnappers. 93 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:39,159 Speaker 1: In the end, he pays two point two million, first 94 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 1: making sure it was tax deductible, and then telling his 95 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: son J. Paul Junior that he had to pay the 96 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: final million when he couldn't come up with the million, 97 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,640 Speaker 1: Senior told him he'd loan it to him at four 98 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:56,599 Speaker 1: percent interest, So finally, after five months of captivity, Paul 99 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 1: was freed on December fifteenth, nineteen seventy three. He was starving, 100 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: he was fragile, and he was missing an ear. The 101 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: kidnappers were eventually caught. When J. Paul Senior died just 102 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: a couple years later, he left his grandson as well 103 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 1: as his son nothing. Paul quickly got married, had a son, 104 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: and went to a semester of college, but his mental 105 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:24,719 Speaker 1: and emotional scars never healed. In nineteen eighty one, Paul 106 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:29,479 Speaker 1: overdosed after taking methadone, valium, and alcohol. He had a 107 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:34,040 Speaker 1: narcotics induced stroke and became a quadriplegic. He lost most 108 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: of his sight and the ability to speak. His mother 109 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: took care of him, but he needed more support, so 110 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: he finally sues his father, asking for twenty eight thousand 111 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 1: dollars a month to help pay for his medical needs. J. 112 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,720 Speaker 1: Paul Getty Third died in twenty eleven at the age 113 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 1: of fifty four. The Getty story became a book and 114 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: then a movie, All the Money in the World in 115 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: twenty seventeen after its release, the nephew of one of 116 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:07,919 Speaker 1: Paul's kidnappers finally spoke out, saying Paul wasn't just a victim. 117 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 1: He was also in on the plot, he claimed, but 118 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:14,840 Speaker 1: without any proof, the kid planned his own kidnapping. It 119 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: started off with great intentions. It was a quick way 120 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: to make a buck on both sides, but it turned 121 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: into a mess because the grandpa didn't want to pay. 122 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 1: Pretty clear lesson that money doesn't buy happiness or a heart. 123 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 1: I hope you're enjoying The Backstory with Patty Steele. Please 124 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 1: leave a review and follow or subscribe for free to 125 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: get new episodes delivered automatically. Also feel free to dm 126 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: me if you have a story you'd like me to cover. 127 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 1: On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. 128 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, 129 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer 130 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: is Doug f Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new 131 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,440 Speaker 1: episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out 132 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: to me with comments and even story suggestions. On Instagram 133 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. 134 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the backstory with Patty Steele, the 135 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:19,520 Speaker 1: pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.