J. Paul Getty: The Real Story Behind The Man With All The Money In The World

Getty Said His Grandson’s Release Was The Finest Birthday Present

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For all the backlash the Getty family and J. Paul Getty himself received for not taking immediate action, the Grandfather Getty surprisingly displays some affection for his grandson when he recalls the kidnapping in his autobiography. “[The] payment was made. The kidnappers released Paul III on December 15, 1973—which by coincidence happened to be my eighty-first birthday. It was the finest and most wonderful birthday present of my life,” Getty wrote. Unfortunately for Paul III, life would never be the same after spending months in captivity and having lost an ear.