Paul Getty

Sir John Paul Getty (September 7, 1932 – April 17, 2003) was a wealthy American-born British philanthropist and book-collector. He was the son of Jean Paul Getty, Sr. (1892-1976), one of the richest men in the world, and of his wife Anne Rork. The family's wealth was the result of the oil business founded by George Franklin Getty. At birth he was given the name Eugene Paul Getty, but in later life he adopted, and was better known by, the names Paul Getty, John Paul Getty and Jean Paul Getty, Jr.

A troubled life

In 1973 his son Paul III was kidnapped in Rome and held in the Calabrian Mountains, chained to a stake in a cave. Getty did not have enough money to pay the US$17 million ransom demand, and his father refused to help. "I have 14 other grandchildren," he said, "and if I pay one penny now, then I will have 14 kidnapped grandchildren." When one of his son's ears was delivered by mail to a newspaper in Rome (delivery had been delayed by three weeks because of a postal strike), his father agreed to help out with the ransom payment. This son later took a mixture of prescription drugs which left him comatose for six weeks and left him paralysed and visually impaired.

Related Topics:
1973 - Rome - Calabrian Mountains

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1976, Paul II's father died, but had essentially written his son out of his will, leaving him $500. Paul II's money came from a family trust and his grandmother. After his father's death, he was able to stop using drugs. Getty's daughter Aileen should not be confused with another Aileen Getty who was married to Elizabeth Taylor's son, Christopher Wilding. Paul II's daughter Aileen was married to Bartolomeo Ruspoli, son of an aristocratic Italian line, in November of 2004 in Los Angeles.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Over the next decade he suffered from depression, and in 1984, in a final attempt to end his drug addiction, checked himself into a London clinic. While there he received a visit from the prime minister Margaret Thatcher to thank him for his donation to the National Gallery, who reportedly helped speed his recovery by telling him, "My dear Mr Getty, we mustn't let things get us down, must we? We'll have you out of here as soon as possible."

Related Topics:
1984 - London - Margaret Thatcher - National Gallery

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~