J. Paul Getty III, Oil Heir, Dies at Age 54
February 8th, 2011 - 11:58 pm ICT by Angela Kaye MasonFeb 8 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The grandson of American Oil billionaire J Paul Getty has died after an extended illness at the age of fifty four. J Pail Getty III lost his life on Saturday while in Buckinghamshire, England according to a statement which was made by his son, actor Balthazar Getty to the ‘Los Angeles Times’.
Getty’s life was full of very public problems which began with a sensational story that seems more like a movie plot than someone’s actual life events. In July of 1973, he was kidnapped from a piazza in Rome, when he was only sixteen years old. His grandfather, already a billionaire at the time, refused to pay his ransom, and the kidnappers cut off his right ear.
Getty was held captive for five months, and the grandfather finally contributed $2.2 million of the over three million dollar demands made by the kidnappers. He then charged Getty’s father, J P Getty II interest on the rest of the ransom. Ten years later, the youngest Getty began to use drugs at the age of 26. He suffered a stroke in 1981 which left him almost blind, and a quadriplegic.
Getty III leaves behind two children and six grandchildren. His father said that he, “taught us how to live our lives and overcome obstacles and extreme adversity and we shall miss him dearly.”
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