Kidnapped: The Tragic Life of J. Paul Getty III

by Charles Fox

The glamorous life, gilded family, and tragic times of J. Paul Getty III, whose kidnapping made headlines in 1973

J. Paul (“Little Paul”) Getty III, the grandson of Getty Oil founder J. Paul Getty, may have been cursed by money and privilege from the moment he was born. Falling in with the wrong people and practically abandoned by his famous family, Getty was a child of his international jet set era, moving from Marrakesh to Rome, nightclubs to well-appointed drug dens. His high-profile kidnapping defined the decade—and was permanently memorable for the ear that was mailed to his mother as evidence of the kidnappers’ intentions.

Uncommon Youth is richly reported, and includes many interviews with Getty himself conducted from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, that raise new angles about the case. How much did Getty acquiesce to the kidnappers? Why wouldn’t his rich-as-Croesus grandfather pay the ransom, which began at the equivalent of $550,000 in lire and bulged to 3.6 million as the months dragged on? Charles Fox began following and researching this story since the days shortly after Getty’s disappearance. Fox’s writing captures the voices of models and maids, mistresses and mothers, carabinieri and club-owners, drug dealers and drivers, alongside the Getty family members themselves to paint an evocative portrait of an era and one of its most misunderstood participants.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, True Crime, Audiobook, History, Memoir

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2013

Reviews

[Muness Castle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written, hard to follow. I got it after watching the movie and the only redeeming thing about the book is how it showed that the movie was full of lies and that everyone in the family was someone I'd never want to spend time with.

[Mr. Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

First things first: The author, Charles Fox, was a British journalist from the 60's & 70's who mostly covered motorcycle races. This book was the last project he did before his death in 2012. Some of the reviews for this book call his writing lazy or simplistic, but if you really want to see the condition he was in when he "wrote" this book, go to this link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyzCB4.... The dude had MS and pretty much lost control over every major bodily function. He was 100% wheelchair bound and I imagine writing ANY type of text until completion was incredibly difficult. I tried my best to research him on the inter-webs and there isn't a whole lot out there, but I felt I had to include this little footnote because I feel it's important to understand.

Yes, this book is mostly comprised of first-hand accounts either said or written by the major players in the text. That, children, makes this text what we call a "primary source." The way these people talk can be a little complicated to follow at times, but the characters here are all multi-lingual and you can easily tell because some phrases or word groupings are simply foreign to American readers. So yeah, it can get confusing, but trust me, it's simple to get over.

What I have a hard time understanding is the lifestyles of the rich and famous. How is it that people can never actually "work" and still complain about money? It's holiday after vacation, after party, after spending binge. These people seem to have it all, right? Nope! It's insane how emotionally shallow these people come across as when they present themselves as socialites, world-travelers, and philanthropists. It's easy to feel sorry for these billionaires, but at the same time they all seem to lack humility and are anything but well-grounded.

But hey, we're all flawed aren't we? Money isn't the root of all happiness and if you have endless amounts and the world is your playground, why wouldn't you shun humanity and turn to heroin?

I really believe that Paul III was destined for great things and I truly blame his father for being a grade-A jackass.

This book is NOT a feel good story, but it is truly, truly fascinating. Everything about it screams 60's and 70's excess much like The Great Gatsby oozed 1920's excess.

This biography of the Getty family had a very strong effect on me as a parent. Read this if you want to know what not to do in parenting. I don't know who I sympathize with the most, but it sure as hell ain't Sir Paul Jr. How an ex-junkie and horrible parent can buy his way into Knighthood is beyond me. All I know is J. Paul Getty III should have been born a farmer.

[Charles Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a slow read but still worth the time. The subject is the kidnapping and ransom of J. Paul Getty III back in the early 70s. His "gilded life" and his subsequent decline. While I would not normally not care about his life the end twist made up for a lot of short comings in the story. It is no one's fault this slugs along at a snail's pace. The bulk of the text is transcription of interviews and those are sometimes murder to wade through.

The kidnapping was a confusing ordeal. There was to my mind one heroine, Getty's mother, and a couple of no-accounts including his father. The Italian press and the Italian police come off looking like oafs. At the same time this is an interesting glimpse into a lifestyle none of us will ever know. Like it or not, however, the mother's grief, the son's pain, the loss of innocence no matter the degree of wealth is not painless. Young Getty knew he was a non-person so I guess I can read this with an indifference and not feel guilty.
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[Bon Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rate the book, not the moral quality of characters. Rate the book, not the moral quality of characters. Rate the book...

[Sallee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting and indeed it portrayed the gilded life and tragic times of J. Paul Getty III. It is hard for the average person to understand that the uber rich have a very different sense about how life should be lived. Granted, they are many who take their bountiful wealth and use it for the good of all. I find that history repeats itself in many cases where the founder of family wealth makes it, the offspring spend it and by the third generation the dynasty ends. The book kept my interest and at the same time made my mind spin. These people moved from place to place constantly and never seemed to have a real home base except the ones that were reclusive. The old axiom that wealth can't buy you happiness is true in this case.

[ans · Rating 2 out of 5]

first half was boring & hard to follow filler. a consistent reminder of how annoying rich people are. boring epilogue.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frankly I was unsure how to rate this book. On one hand I really enjoyed the inside look at how the .0001 percent lives, and I enjoyed some of the family interviews, on the other hand I felt it needed both better edit of the interviews and more input from Fox.

The book tells the story J.P. Getty III's infamous kidnapping primarily through interviews with J.P.III, and others, that Fox conducted in the 70's when he was going to help J.P. III write an autobiography. The plans for the book were eventually scuttled, Morgan spends much of his life in a wheelchair due to a drug overdose, and Fox continues his writing career while battling MS. Fox does not go into the details of his disease but it provides a nice counterpoint for the self-inflicted invalidism of Getty. The interview segments are muddled and sometimes contradictory. They are appear to be taken directly from transcripts and tend to illuminate the, sometimes, bizarre thinking of the players in the drama. Unfortunately the actual kidnapping is the most tedious part of the book. There is a lot of repetition as different players give their versions although, again, it is fascinating to get a glimpse of how these people were thinking. Fox could have stepped in and cleaned things up again but I want to give him a pass on this. Considering how ill he was I am truly amazed he got this posthumously published book together at all. As an aside here is the link to a short video of Fox: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyzCB4.... The part of the book that made me go for three stars instead of two was the insight into the uber-rich. Bad as it all turned out for some of the Getty's, especially J.P. III, I still want to be filthy, stinking rich with a palace in Marrakesh where famous rock and rollers visit me.

I wanted to do a little update on this because I was questioning some of young Paul's statements. While it is true that the Rolling Stones did visit the Pleasure Palace, I couldn't find anything to back up his claim about the test recording of Sticky Fingers. It is true that the Stones, or at least Keith Richards, did hang out with J.P II and his wife in both Italy and Marrakesh. I suspect there are a lot of faulty memories in this book and I wish the author would have pointed this out.
I still want to be dirty, stinking rich.

[Josh Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sad, sad tale of a sad, sad life. I pin much of the blame of J. Paul Getty, III's tragic life on his father and his grandfather. Although wealthy, they were lousy examples and didn't train up J. Paul Getty III in the way he should be raised. It is no wonder his life was so tragic. It brings to mind the poignant words of Jesus to this family, "What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mark 8:36

Here are a few excerpts:

"He (Paul Getty, III) gave no thought to tomorrow." p.17

"I've made an awful mess of my life." J. Paul Getty, III, p254

"On June 6, 1976, almost exactly a year since I'd stopped work on Paul's book, Old Paul (Paul Getty, Sr) died. He was eighty-three. Paul told me that his grandfather was found sitting in his armchair in his study, dressed in a dark suit. No one knew the extent of his wealth. His principal interests were said to be business, sex, and the collection of antique art, in that order." p. 254

"Often we can only change our lives when there is no option. Paul always had so many options. He had his painting, and his words, his writing, his charm and youth, but most of all he had his name, and all the power that went with it. He could get away with murder with no repercussions. He was practically freed of responsibility and consideration for anyone, but then one day was payday."
-Martine Zacher, Paul's wife

"All my friends have done something, but I'm just a name. I can call up anyone in the world, and they will meet with me, but only because of my name." J. Paul Getty, III, p. 257

"After you, he came to see us in San Francisco. His girlfriend said to me, 'I want to marry Paul.' Then he and I went to pick up the kids from school. In the car he said to me, 'Don't ever say yes to a divorce. I just had to say it. I'm going down. I'm watching my own destruction, and I can't stop it. Just stay with me. I'm all over the place. I'm destroying myself, but don't say yes to any divorce."
-Martine Zacher, Paul's wife, p. 259

"Today is my birthday. I am destroying myself. I miss my wife, I miss my children." J. Paul Getty, III written from rehab hospital, p.259

"His grandfather's great fortune gave rise to a sense of omnipotence." p. 275

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book a while ago and then put it down as I found the interviewing style in the early chapters rather choppy and off-putting. However, I doggedly picked it up again and gradually got sucked into the story. It is actually a good depiction of an uber-rich family that put the "D" in dysfunctional. The mother's attempts to parent her son were ineffectual, and the father veered between grossly irresponsible to not giving a damn. "Little Paul" was, as one of the interviewers said, both neglected and entitled and was floating through all levels of society, from gangsters to "it girls" to artists, etc. at a very young age, getting by on his charm and his famous name. Too bad that a temporary whim came to unwanted, awful fruition in his kidnapping. The book also, much to my surprise, made me think a bit better of that old coot, J. Paul Getty, who, while awful during this situation, was not as cold about it as I assumed. If anyone held up the ransom payment, it was "Big Paul", the young man's father. The ransom demand and the negotiations with kidnappers were far more convoluted and tangled than I ever realized, with the kidnappers attempting to communicate with the boy's mother, a security expert (who couldn't speak Italian) hired by the grandfather, the family attorney in Italy and others. Small wonder that it took months to get anywhere. I gave the book 4 stars, though really, if I could, I'd give it a 3 1/2. It gives a good overview of a certain type of crowd at that point in history. The interview style isn't going to be to everyone's taste--however, I do think that the author was trying to give the parties involved the chance to describe things in their own words, contradictions and all.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm ambivalent about this book. The story itself is tragic and haunting but the execution is weak. The text is merely a compilation of interviews which, to me, is lazy writing. I found the most interesting parts to be the prologue and epilogue which has more intimacy and perspective. The dullest part is the kidnapping, which is presented in excruciating detail. During the ransom negotiation part, I read only the sections narrated by Getty himself since he was the only character in the book I had any empathy toward. Fox interviewed every important individual(almost)involved in this calamity, which makes the reporting thorough, but made me question how he negotiated such liberal access. Maybe because it was the 70's? Bottom line: worth reading.

[Angela Spores · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember when I was a kid hearing about this kidnapping where they cut off the person's ear. But I really had no context for this story. While the story is haphazardly put together and the writing feels lazy, it was an interesting read.

[Marjorie Schultz · Rating 3 out of 5]

First distracting but later interesting--the book is almost all musings of the characters. The author takes small passages to explain or connect the thoughts. A current event from before I was paying attention to current events.

[Cosette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like watching a train wreck. In slow motion. And repeat. Absolutely terrifying. To a mother.

[Terri Durling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having just watched both the movie & the television series, "All the Money in the World", I was definitely interested in wanting to know more about this extremely bizarre & provocative story. One reason was that, although there were similarities in the movie & series, there were also lots of things that were depicted quite differently. I wanted to know the real story so thought this book would help sort out truth from faction. I recall the news swirling around Paul Getty III's kidnapping in Italy in 1973. The world was horrified when his ear arrived in the mail several months after he went missing. Speculation had been that he had organized the kidnapping himself as he needed the money and his rich grandfather wouldn't pay up. Charles Fox does his best to state the facts based on interviews with many of the key figures, including the victim himself, his mother, Gail, and his then girlfriend, Martine, who later became his wife. The storytelling is haphazard and mimics the true events which were pretty confusing at the time. I came to the conclusion that it was a kidnapping gone wrong. It appeared he had been involved in the beginning with another group but the Calabresi mafia got involved & things went south from that point on and Getty was in over his head. It appears that he never really recovered from his horrific ordeal and no wonder. He became increasingly involved in drugs to cope and he died in his 50s, with medical issues and never reached the potential he had shown as a young man. A study into the lives of the rich and famous which proves once again that money can't buy happiness.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having seen the movie trailer this past winter for the movie about John Paul Getty III and then coming across this book at the library, I decided to read it. I remembered the news reports from the time but just couldn't remember whether he had planned it himself or not. Really a very tragic story and wasted life. Often times while reading the book, I got confused as to whom the author was talking to or about. Not the best literature by far.

[Lisa Mcbroom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember when this happened. I was a sophomore in high school. Also I have become fascinated by the Gettys after viewing the film All That Money Can Buy. To Fox's credit, he was writing this book when suffering from illness, but it still seem disjointed.

[Molly Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

So so, I listened to a podcast about this story that I liked better.

[Stephen Heiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always had a particular interest in the Getty family. It started in high school when I first got to visit the Getty Villa on a high school field trip. For someone who had never been to the ruins of Greece and Rome in Europe, it was a revelation.

I learned more about the Getty fortune and the big man himself, and still often recommend his "How to Be Rich" as well as Steve Coll's "The Taking of Getty Oil."

However this book, unlike those two, isn't one I'll be recommending.

The author shows us just what a debauched life young Paul Getty was surrounded by, from a very early age. Part of you wonders, "did he stand a chance?" but the responsible part of you murmurs, "we are all responsible for our choices."

Paul Getty led a sad, tragic life, all the more sad because it didn't have to be this way.

I doubt that anyone who doesn't have a special interest in the Gettys will read this with anything approaching enjoyment. It's effectively a l0ng-form gossip tabloid story, but without the excitement of a Patty Hearst kidnapping.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of the 1973 kidnapping of J Paul Getty III largely told in transcript form by Paul, his mother, girlfriend and using call notes from the kidnapper negotiations. I didn't really mind the "lazy journalism" style that others have criticized. I thought it effectively told the story. But what I ended up being more interested in, was the timeline of the book's publication. Charles Fox met with Getty in 2001 and began work on the book not too long after that. It looks like the book was finished in 2008. Getty died in 2011 and Fox in 2012. The book was published posthumously in 2013.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for everybody. It details a strange historical event where the grandson of multibillionaire JP Getty was kidnapped for ransom. His parents are divorced and terrible, self-centered people. The whole affair is bungled by everyone, including the kidnap victim, Paul Getty III, his mother Gail, her lawyer, the kidnappers, the press, the Italian police, and his uninvolved father, Paul Getty Jr.

Painful to read, but reasonably thorough coverage of the people and events involved.

I just wanted to shout at everyone, "You are an idiot!" So much opportunity and potential gone to waste.

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating

I knew of this kidnapping but not much behind the facts. This book did an incredible job of telling Paul’s story, the burden of his name, and how his life unraveled after he was released. Great suspense, as the book opens with both Paul and the author (Charles) in wheelchairs, and Paul not able to speak, communicating his wish that Charles tell his story. How did they know each other, how did they both end up disabled? This curiosity created a tension that was maintained until the very end. Great writing. And a great tragedy.

I listened to the Audible audiobook.

[Maureen Byrnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a bit boring, as the other readers have noted. But both the author and the subject had paralysis and I am sure all of the drugs and pain killers sapped the energy and ability to do more research on the back round story, which would have enlivened the book quite a bit. Still worth reading, though. The depiction of the Italian Mafia people was particularly horrifying. The Italian culture is very strange, read it and see...

[Susan Flanagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good peak into a world of the beyond uber wealthy. The book was a little hard to follow toward the end. After surfing the internet to read some of the press from the time, I found conflicting information. The book portayed the Grandfather in a different light and the father as being the hold back for the release of the ransom. The press at the time portayed the grandfather as the hold out.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with the negative reviews--this is kind of a mess. The story itself is interesting, but it is so poorly written and organized that it is hard to stay engaged as a reader.

It would have made more sense if the author had either told the story chronologically or by character, rather than going back in forth in time and alternating voices.

[Katie Lembo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not counting this toward my 2022 goal because I didn’t fully read it the way I read other things due to it being boring.

Just couldn’t get into this at all. Ended up reading Paul’s parts of the story and then skimming everyone else’s. I wish I could say I felt any sort of pity for this family, but they all kinda suck.

[Talulah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it really interesting, and I'm not really one for biographies

I read this as a chosen topic for a school project but have obviously reread it again and it's still as interesting and devastating as the first time. People say that there should be more input on Fox's end but to me, that's the appeal of this piece, I feel as though I too was there talking with these people.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring and tedious. Whole book only consists of interviews, which gets old pretty quickly.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a good story here but the writing style was clumsy and confusing

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.