What Happened to John Paul Getty III? Inside the Shocking Details of the Powerful Family

There have been many powerful American families, and the Getty lineage is one of the most notable, as patriarch J. Paul Getty was once named the richest man in the world. However, his grandson and namesake, John Paul Getty III, faced a life of tragedy despite growing up with extreme wealth and privilege. Let’s dive into what happened to him.

John Paul Getty III was the eldest of four children born to his father John Paul Getty Jr. and mother Abigail Harris. He and his siblings spent the early part of their lives growing up in Rome, where their father managed the Getty family oil business, according to Rolling Stone.

In July 1973, at the age of 16, John, known as a rebellious teen by his family, was kidnapped while on the streets of Rome; however, the shocking, unbelievable details of the incident were just beginning. According to Vanity Fair, John allegedly confided in his girlfriend, Gisela Schmidt, that he “toyed” with the idea of having himself kidnapped but changed his mind when they both landed jobs as models. "Paul didn't want to be kidnapped anymore, but the kidnappers continued following him," she said, per the outlet.

Despite the kidnappers demanding $17 million for his return, his grandfather, J. Paul, refused to put up the money for several months. John was held captive and tortured for five months, with his right ear being severed, before J. Paul finally agreed to pay the ransom, which he only agreed to do because he found a tax loophole through his accountants that discovered he could write off a portion of the ransom that he negotiated down to $2.89 million, according to PEOPLE.

Part of J. Paul’s hesitation to initially send the ransom was because he believed that if he paid the captors, his 13 other grandchildren would also be targets of kidnappers. Once John returned home, he wanted to thank his grandfather for paying the ransom for his return and called him; however, J. Paul refused to come to the phone and speak to him.

Of the nine people who were arrested for the kidnapping, only two were convicted and sent to prison, while the remaining seven individuals were acquitted due to lack of evidence against them, per TIME. The bulk of the ransom money sent was never recovered.

In 1981, John suffered a massive stroke that left him a quadriplegic, partially blind, and unable to speak, after he drank a Valium, methadone, and alcohol cocktail, which also caused liver failure, according to The New York Times.

John suffered from poor health for the rest of his life, with his mother becoming his primary caregiver — she also sued his father for the $28,000 a month in expenses to care for him. In February 2011, John died at the Getty estate due to a long illness that was undisclosed.