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The Last Baron: The Paris Kidnapping That Brought Down an Empire
A riveting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat tale about the notorious 1978 kidnapping of Baron Édouard-Jean “Wado” Empain, intertwined with the story of his famous grandfather, the first baron and builder of the Paris Métro. A multigenerational saga told against the backdrops of both Belle Époque and 1970s high-fashion Paris.
What does it take to create a dynasty? What does it take to keep one going? And what does it take to save the life of the dazzling but flawed man who inherited it all? Launched in the 1880s by the first baron, the Empain industrial empire spread from Belgium and France to span more than a dozen countries. When Wado took over, he further expanded the company, became a key player in France’s nuclear sector, and, by the mid-1970s, was one of the country’s most powerful business leaders—a self-described “master of the universe.” But these were also the “years of lead,” marked by a rash of high-profile kidnappings around the globe, including the headline-grabbing seizure of American heiress Patty Hearst.
Wado’s vertiginous rise caught the eye of Alain Cailloll, a small-time gangster who had grown up in a wealthy family before embracing a life of crime. On January 23, 1978, Caillol and his confederates snatched the baron off the Paris streets, sure that they’d get the 80 million francs they demanded in ransom. To show they meant business, they chopped off Wado’s little finger and warned that more body parts would follow.
But nothing unfolded as the kidnappers, or Wado himself, expected. Would Empain’s company pay? Could his family afford this astronomical sum? How much was the life of a leader, a father, and a husband worth? Most important, could a determined police chief and his crack investigators outsmart the kidnappers? The answers to those questions unspooled over two months in a tangle of events leading to a bloody showdown whose consequences would prove fatal to the Empain dynasty.
What does it take to create a dynasty? What does it take to keep one going? And what does it take to save the life of the dazzling but flawed man who inherited it all? Launched in the 1880s by the first baron, the Empain industrial empire spread from Belgium and France to span more than a dozen countries. When Wado took over, he further expanded the company, became a key player in France’s nuclear sector, and, by the mid-1970s, was one of the country’s most powerful business leaders—a self-described “master of the universe.” But these were also the “years of lead,” marked by a rash of high-profile kidnappings around the globe, including the headline-grabbing seizure of American heiress Patty Hearst.
Wado’s vertiginous rise caught the eye of Alain Cailloll, a small-time gangster who had grown up in a wealthy family before embracing a life of crime. On January 23, 1978, Caillol and his confederates snatched the baron off the Paris streets, sure that they’d get the 80 million francs they demanded in ransom. To show they meant business, they chopped off Wado’s little finger and warned that more body parts would follow.
But nothing unfolded as the kidnappers, or Wado himself, expected. Would Empain’s company pay? Could his family afford this astronomical sum? How much was the life of a leader, a father, and a husband worth? Most important, could a determined police chief and his crack investigators outsmart the kidnappers? The answers to those questions unspooled over two months in a tangle of events leading to a bloody showdown whose consequences would prove fatal to the Empain dynasty.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published April 5, 2022
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445 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
May 4, 2022
This book came out of no where of being on the best books I’ve read in recent memory.
One part crime thriller, one part contemporary history of France. This brilliantly written novel writes about the fascinating true story of the kidnapping of Édouard-Jean “Wado” Emapin.
The story breaks down the background of Baron Empain’s immense wealth, the kidnapping itself, and the after shocks of his ordeal. You’ll learn everything from France’s industrialization, the building of the Paris Metro, and how all of this changed in the face of the social strife of the 1970’s.
If you like crime stories or history, you’ll love this book.
One part crime thriller, one part contemporary history of France. This brilliantly written novel writes about the fascinating true story of the kidnapping of Édouard-Jean “Wado” Emapin.
The story breaks down the background of Baron Empain’s immense wealth, the kidnapping itself, and the after shocks of his ordeal. You’ll learn everything from France’s industrialization, the building of the Paris Metro, and how all of this changed in the face of the social strife of the 1970’s.
If you like crime stories or history, you’ll love this book.
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July 6, 2023After seeing Tom Sancton at the NOLA Book Festival, I added this book to my TBR. The audiobook of this nonfiction book was quite enjoyable. Tells the true story of the kidnapped and the kidnappers! True crime fans I recommend this one.
January 22, 2023
The absent are always in the wrong.
There is an old expression I learned in French, 'The absent are always in the wrong.' In so many cases those are wise words. In this book, typical of true crime stories, one finds a case in point. It is a fascinating story of the rise and fall of a family business empire, and a barony. Tom Sancton covers the kidnapping of the Baron with a thoroughness that is to be expected in an account of a high profile case like this. It seems the Seventies was the decade for kidnappings. I remember seeing the headlines of the Patty Hearst kidnapping case, though I was just in grade school. But, I don't remember having heard of Baron 'Wado' in France in 1978 some four years later.
His is a sad tale, since his whole life came unraveled after the kidnapping. Clearly, though the kidnappers were uncommon criminals, his own people were like buzzards ready to pick the carcass clean after his liberation. There are many ups and downs in the story, and despite an overwhelming sympathy for Wado, I couldn't help but wonder if he was not destined to bring his fortune down himself, had not criminals and frenemies been there to do it for him. But, the details are something you'll have to read for yourself.
The author includes the details of the building of the Paris Metro, recaps circumstances preceding the family's attainment of the title from King Leopold, and covers the investigation, and prosecution of the perpetrators. He also reveals glimpses of the relationship between the Baron and his family members after the liberation. I read this in the hardback, from B&N, and have enjoyed it immensely, listening along with the Audible format. It is a book that is near impossible to put down once you begin. Here we are at 8am ready to finally get some sleep.
There is an old expression I learned in French, 'The absent are always in the wrong.' In so many cases those are wise words. In this book, typical of true crime stories, one finds a case in point. It is a fascinating story of the rise and fall of a family business empire, and a barony. Tom Sancton covers the kidnapping of the Baron with a thoroughness that is to be expected in an account of a high profile case like this. It seems the Seventies was the decade for kidnappings. I remember seeing the headlines of the Patty Hearst kidnapping case, though I was just in grade school. But, I don't remember having heard of Baron 'Wado' in France in 1978 some four years later.
His is a sad tale, since his whole life came unraveled after the kidnapping. Clearly, though the kidnappers were uncommon criminals, his own people were like buzzards ready to pick the carcass clean after his liberation. There are many ups and downs in the story, and despite an overwhelming sympathy for Wado, I couldn't help but wonder if he was not destined to bring his fortune down himself, had not criminals and frenemies been there to do it for him. But, the details are something you'll have to read for yourself.
The author includes the details of the building of the Paris Metro, recaps circumstances preceding the family's attainment of the title from King Leopold, and covers the investigation, and prosecution of the perpetrators. He also reveals glimpses of the relationship between the Baron and his family members after the liberation. I read this in the hardback, from B&N, and have enjoyed it immensely, listening along with the Audible format. It is a book that is near impossible to put down once you begin. Here we are at 8am ready to finally get some sleep.
May 18, 2022
Enjoyable book that’s an engrossing mix of biography, history, true crime, and thriller.
Are wealthy people kidnapped and held for ransom much these days? My cursory online research suggests this money-making scheme was a bigger deal before the modem age of cameras recording seemingly everything 24/7. But back in the good ol’ pre-digital 1970s, a wealthy French Baron could be quite easily picked off a Parisian street and given the opportunity to experience Stockholm Syndrome first-hand.
The author’s account of the kidnapping and subsequent negotiations was so riveting that I finally broke down and googled Empain to learn his fate before the book informed me. I simply couldn’t handle any more nail-biting suspense!
Are wealthy people kidnapped and held for ransom much these days? My cursory online research suggests this money-making scheme was a bigger deal before the modem age of cameras recording seemingly everything 24/7. But back in the good ol’ pre-digital 1970s, a wealthy French Baron could be quite easily picked off a Parisian street and given the opportunity to experience Stockholm Syndrome first-hand.
The author’s account of the kidnapping and subsequent negotiations was so riveting that I finally broke down and googled Empain to learn his fate before the book informed me. I simply couldn’t handle any more nail-biting suspense!
August 15, 2022
This book surpassed my expectations. I didn't know of this heartbreaking story of the kidnapping of Edoaurd "Wado" Empain, and how it impacted he and his family's life after the 1978 incident. I also learned so much about the Empain family, the industrialization of Paris and the Congo, and how influential yet ruthless this family was. For three generations.
The way Sancton broke up the book, how it changed eras throughout, seemed so fitting with his lead-ins. His writing is straightforward, honest, and compassionate. I was engaged in this book throughout and look forward to reading more of his books.
The way Sancton broke up the book, how it changed eras throughout, seemed so fitting with his lead-ins. His writing is straightforward, honest, and compassionate. I was engaged in this book throughout and look forward to reading more of his books.
September 18, 2022
Unsure how to rate the book. The “problem” is I don’t care what happened to the Baron. Don’t want to see harm to anyone, but he isn’t an honorable, likable person. So…whatever.
January 29, 2025
Bijzonder boek. Zeer goed geschreven en een mooi verslag van een toch wel heel boeiende periode in de wereldgeschiedenis.
Niet alleen de familie Empain komt aan bod, alhoewel een aantal zeer kleurrijke figuren de revue passeren, de kidnapping is maar een deel van het verhaal.
Voor wie meer wil weten over het bouwen van de Parijse metro en een spoorlijn in Egypte, sluwe onderhandelingen, de rol van het Belgisch hof in dit alles, aanrader!!
Niet alleen de familie Empain komt aan bod, alhoewel een aantal zeer kleurrijke figuren de revue passeren, de kidnapping is maar een deel van het verhaal.
Voor wie meer wil weten over het bouwen van de Parijse metro en een spoorlijn in Egypte, sluwe onderhandelingen, de rol van het Belgisch hof in dit alles, aanrader!!
September 25, 2023
A book that goes into one of the better-known 1970s kidnappings (Aldo Moro, Heineken, the Getty grandson, Martin Schleyer...).
Wado, third Baron Empain, was the playboy scion of a dynasty that had started with a Belgian self-made man in the late 19th century. The first Baron Empain's main claim to fame was the construction of the Paris metro - along with some very questionable business practices in the Congo and a profitable friendship with King Leopold II. By the time Wado took control of the business, not without having to outmaneuver his uncle and various managers, this was a veritable empire indeed. The French government were not super-keen on this half-Belgian half-American youngster who hadn't even attended one of France's grandes ecoles having such a say in important business decisions that might affect France's economic stability.
Wado was kidnapped while leaving his domicile one morning, and kept in captivity for more than 2 months as his kidnappers, a group of French gangsters, tried to collect 80 million $ in ransom. They had made a big mistake in coming up with this number: even Baron Empain's family could not lay their hands on that amount of cash in a couple of days. And, equally important: the police and some family members were adamantly opposed to paying ransom.
And so the Baron languished for weeks in a cave, then in a suburban house, while his kidnappers got more and more nervous and tired. The tactics of severing one finger and sending it to the family, then of having the Baron write pleading letters, didn't really alter the outcome. Finally the kidnappers agreed to a reduced ransom, and the whole thing ended with a shootout during one kidnapper was killed and another was captured. The Baron was released soon after.
Happy ending? No, absolutely not. The police investigation (and the scandal press) had uncovered the Baron's messy private life (including a bachelor's pad for romantic trysts) and his serious gambling habit, causing both the baron's family and public opinion to turn against him. So, disgusted with his family and feeling unloved the Baron left France to spend time with his mistress in the USA. He eventually staged a professional comeback.. which was short-lived. And ended up spending his days as a rich loafer, gambling away much of his inheritance.
This is one of those books where there is not a single sympathetic person. Not the first Baron Empain, Belle Epoque tycoon. Not the second Baron Empain, playboy and Nazi sympathizer. Not the third Baron Empain. Certainly not his mother, Rozelle, the former stripper from Ohio. No heroes among the French police, and no appealing underdogs among the kidnappers.
The book was at its best in describing the history of the Empain family, and the author did manage to get some interviews with one of the kidnappers. But there is very little information on the police investigation, and those readers who think of this as a true crime book may be disappointed.
Wado, third Baron Empain, was the playboy scion of a dynasty that had started with a Belgian self-made man in the late 19th century. The first Baron Empain's main claim to fame was the construction of the Paris metro - along with some very questionable business practices in the Congo and a profitable friendship with King Leopold II. By the time Wado took control of the business, not without having to outmaneuver his uncle and various managers, this was a veritable empire indeed. The French government were not super-keen on this half-Belgian half-American youngster who hadn't even attended one of France's grandes ecoles having such a say in important business decisions that might affect France's economic stability.
Wado was kidnapped while leaving his domicile one morning, and kept in captivity for more than 2 months as his kidnappers, a group of French gangsters, tried to collect 80 million $ in ransom. They had made a big mistake in coming up with this number: even Baron Empain's family could not lay their hands on that amount of cash in a couple of days. And, equally important: the police and some family members were adamantly opposed to paying ransom.
And so the Baron languished for weeks in a cave, then in a suburban house, while his kidnappers got more and more nervous and tired. The tactics of severing one finger and sending it to the family, then of having the Baron write pleading letters, didn't really alter the outcome. Finally the kidnappers agreed to a reduced ransom, and the whole thing ended with a shootout during one kidnapper was killed and another was captured. The Baron was released soon after.
Happy ending? No, absolutely not. The police investigation (and the scandal press) had uncovered the Baron's messy private life (including a bachelor's pad for romantic trysts) and his serious gambling habit, causing both the baron's family and public opinion to turn against him. So, disgusted with his family and feeling unloved the Baron left France to spend time with his mistress in the USA. He eventually staged a professional comeback.. which was short-lived. And ended up spending his days as a rich loafer, gambling away much of his inheritance.
This is one of those books where there is not a single sympathetic person. Not the first Baron Empain, Belle Epoque tycoon. Not the second Baron Empain, playboy and Nazi sympathizer. Not the third Baron Empain. Certainly not his mother, Rozelle, the former stripper from Ohio. No heroes among the French police, and no appealing underdogs among the kidnappers.
The book was at its best in describing the history of the Empain family, and the author did manage to get some interviews with one of the kidnappers. But there is very little information on the police investigation, and those readers who think of this as a true crime book may be disappointed.
May 13, 2022
Extraordinary tale surrounding the kidnapping in 1978 of Baron Edouard Jean 'Wado' Empain whose business empire -- created by his Belgian grandfather and which included constructing the Paris Metro and the city of Heliopolis in Egypt -- extended thanks to him to the French nuclear industry. His high profile attracted a right old gang of ne'er do wells led by Daniel Duchateau the son of a policeman if you will -- "Duchateau is a mystic living on dreams and illusions.." is how a prison psychiatrist assessed him in 1973 five years before the kidnapping -- and Alain Caillol who like Empain came from a comfortable background -- if not quite as wealthy. The kidnap was brilliantly executed but after that thoroughbred performance their handling of the ransom demand declined to one of a donkey. However, the Baron's reputation also took a shellacking as lurid details of his private life were fed to the press by the police heading the investigation surrounding his gambling and mistresses. Rather oddly for such a high profile kidnapping -- all the rage in that era -- the lead detective Pierre Ottavioli did not return from the USA for a week preferring to remain on holiday....Empain's family too behaved strangely -- his mother Rozell an exotic dancer from Ohio is a piece of work declaring she would not contribute to the ransom and it appeared to a close friend of the Baron's Raymond Vuilliez that she was not "especially concerned about the baron's life." Rozell was so concerned about her maintaining her lifestyle that when Empain's playboy father Johnny died in 1946 she remarried....his first cousin Edouard dismissively named Cousin Miscarriage' by Johnny. Suffice to say there is a rich cast of characters -- including Josephine Baker and champion jockey Jacques 'Tarzan' Doyasbere -- and I do not wish to say too much about how it ends but it is hardly a fairytale one, though, not perhaps in the way you might think. A cracking read and engrossing about the history of the Empain family from inspirational grandfather to louche collaborationist Johnny to the rather impressive but tragic figure of Wado. A must read.
February 8, 2023
THE LAST BARON: The Paris Kidnapping That Brought Down an Empire is a richly, layered story steeped in intrigue and tragedy. Its essence is centered around the kidnapping, in January 1978, of Baron Édouard-Jean “Wado” Empain, one of France's principal industrial leaders who was also an inveterate gambler, playboy, and a man who seemingly had it all. He was a third generation baron and head of the Empain industrial empire, which had been founded by his grandfather in the 1880s and, at its zenith, "spread from France and Belgium to span more than a dozen countries." The design and construction of the Paris Metro in the late 1890s was one of its greatest achievements.
I came across this book by chance. Its author, Tom Sancton, I had previously become acquainted with from reading a few years ago his engaging book, THE BETTENCOURT AFFAIR which dealt with Liliane Bettencourt (1922-2017), who was the richest woman in the world and one of the principal shareholders in L'Oréal, one of the world's largest cosmetic and beauty companies, which was founded by her father in the early 1900s.
The Last Baron piqued my curiosity because it's a book about a political kidnapping at a time when such kidnappings in Europe seemed common. This was in the late 1970s. I was then on the cusp of adolescence. I remember the 1977 kidnapping and murder of Hans-Martin Schleyer, a German industrialist, by the radical leftist terrorist Baader Meinhof group. And then, it was followed up by the kidnapping and murder in Italy of former Premier Aldo Moro by the radical leftist Red Brigade terrorist group. Those 2 tragic events --- which I learned about on the TV news --- became fixed in my memory. But the kidnapping of Baron Empain completely escaped my notice.
Sancton does a masterful job in describing the planning and carrying out of the kidnapping in a crowded Paris street, the life stories and motives of the kidnappers themselves, as well as the effects the kidnapping had on Baron Empain and his family and the Empain industrial empire.
The Last Baron is a book that reads like an epic, Shakespearian novel, except that what it describes in considerable detail was all too true. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a gripping tale.
I came across this book by chance. Its author, Tom Sancton, I had previously become acquainted with from reading a few years ago his engaging book, THE BETTENCOURT AFFAIR which dealt with Liliane Bettencourt (1922-2017), who was the richest woman in the world and one of the principal shareholders in L'Oréal, one of the world's largest cosmetic and beauty companies, which was founded by her father in the early 1900s.
The Last Baron piqued my curiosity because it's a book about a political kidnapping at a time when such kidnappings in Europe seemed common. This was in the late 1970s. I was then on the cusp of adolescence. I remember the 1977 kidnapping and murder of Hans-Martin Schleyer, a German industrialist, by the radical leftist terrorist Baader Meinhof group. And then, it was followed up by the kidnapping and murder in Italy of former Premier Aldo Moro by the radical leftist Red Brigade terrorist group. Those 2 tragic events --- which I learned about on the TV news --- became fixed in my memory. But the kidnapping of Baron Empain completely escaped my notice.
Sancton does a masterful job in describing the planning and carrying out of the kidnapping in a crowded Paris street, the life stories and motives of the kidnappers themselves, as well as the effects the kidnapping had on Baron Empain and his family and the Empain industrial empire.
The Last Baron is a book that reads like an epic, Shakespearian novel, except that what it describes in considerable detail was all too true. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a gripping tale.
April 22, 2022
This book. Riveting. Readable. Can't put it down.
Gripping true crime that reads like a novel.
Author is a prodigious talent at characterization: I vividly visualized each character and who should play them in the movie :)
I read the author's New Orleans book Song for My Fathers. It was so good I read it twice. So I didn't hesitate to preorder this one.
The setting is mostly Paris and its surroundings. I've been to Paris a number of times, and while reading this book I used my maps app to look up the locations mentioned: one spot was just across the river from Auvers, where I once trekked to see Vincent Van Gogh's (and Theo's) grave. Knowing some locations made the book come even more alive for me.
The Metropolitain (the Paris subway) was a big part of the empire created by the first baron. I went down a fascinating architectural rabbithole at the mention of the backstory of the Metropolitain. I have a cherished original watercolor of one of the art nouveau entrances (the one at Denfert-Rochereau). Until I read this book, little did I know the story of Hector Guimard who designed these stunning entrances. Fascinating.
This book kept me up reading well past lights out.
This book. Engrossing. Enjoyable. Bravo!
Gripping true crime that reads like a novel.
Author is a prodigious talent at characterization: I vividly visualized each character and who should play them in the movie :)
I read the author's New Orleans book Song for My Fathers. It was so good I read it twice. So I didn't hesitate to preorder this one.
The setting is mostly Paris and its surroundings. I've been to Paris a number of times, and while reading this book I used my maps app to look up the locations mentioned: one spot was just across the river from Auvers, where I once trekked to see Vincent Van Gogh's (and Theo's) grave. Knowing some locations made the book come even more alive for me.
The Metropolitain (the Paris subway) was a big part of the empire created by the first baron. I went down a fascinating architectural rabbithole at the mention of the backstory of the Metropolitain. I have a cherished original watercolor of one of the art nouveau entrances (the one at Denfert-Rochereau). Until I read this book, little did I know the story of Hector Guimard who designed these stunning entrances. Fascinating.
This book kept me up reading well past lights out.
This book. Engrossing. Enjoyable. Bravo!
April 26, 2022
The Last Baron tells the story of a wealthy French/Belgian industrialist who was kidnapped in 1978. I knew nothing about Édouard-Jean Empain, but I was instantly gripped by the author’s account of his abduction. After a few chapters, the book breaks away from this main event to tell additional stories, such how the baron’s grandfather built the family’s wealth through a series of lucrative contracts during the Belle Époque. I recommend the book and do not want to spoil it for you, but I will say that the farther the story gets from the kidnapping the more “academic” it feels. I, personally, enjoyed the book throughout but felt that it gradually shifted into a different kind of book than the one I first thought I was reading. Toward the end, the author inserts himself into the story, describing his interactions with (and perceptions of) his informants. I would have enjoyed more moments like these in the earlier chapters, as I was quite curious about his interest in Empain and the paths he followed to investigate a crime committed a half-century ago.
May 5, 2022
You wouldn’t believe it if it hadn’t happened. In 1978 a group of French criminals kidnapped a leading industrialist (“Wado” Empain) and held him for ransom. Authorities and Wado’s family had differing opinions on whether to pay the ransom. Meanwhile, the French press had a field day uncovering the details of Wado’s hidden life (mistresses and massive gambling debts). And the executives at Wado’s firm plotted to take over his position as the head of the company.
The Last Baron is a true story about decadence among the French elite. It wasn’t just Wado - his family’s fortune and scandals went back to the 1800s when Wado’s grandfather made a fortune by building the Paris Metro and then investing in Belgium’s colony in the Congo. The Last Baron is a story of a fortune being made and then squandered in three generations. And on top of all of that, the criminals who pulled off the kidnapping are also fairly interesting.
I really enjoyed The Last Baron.
The Last Baron is a true story about decadence among the French elite. It wasn’t just Wado - his family’s fortune and scandals went back to the 1800s when Wado’s grandfather made a fortune by building the Paris Metro and then investing in Belgium’s colony in the Congo. The Last Baron is a story of a fortune being made and then squandered in three generations. And on top of all of that, the criminals who pulled off the kidnapping are also fairly interesting.
I really enjoyed The Last Baron.
June 8, 2025
Baron Édouard-Jean “Wado” Empain was born in Budapest in 1937. At the time of his kidnapping, he was the 3rd Baron Empain, as well as the CEO of the Schneider-Emapin Group. He was kidnapped on January 23, 1978, after a faked road accident that one would imagine seeing in a movie theatre. He remained in captivity for 63 days, pending a massive manhunt by the police. This book details the conditions he was kept in during his captivity, the investigation, and criminal proceedings against his kidnappers. After his release, he suffered greatly from the experience. He died in 2018, at the age of 80.
This book was really well done. The flow of the writing was acceptable. The research was well done. I had never heard about this case, and bought this book during an Audible sale. I have been trying to get my unread books down to a manageable number, and this happened to be next on the list. I am very pleased with this purchase.
This book was really well done. The flow of the writing was acceptable. The research was well done. I had never heard about this case, and bought this book during an Audible sale. I have been trying to get my unread books down to a manageable number, and this happened to be next on the list. I am very pleased with this purchase.
October 24, 2024
My cousin Chuck gave me the book back in March, 2024. I liked the book as I did the book The Bettencourt Affair. The book reminded me of being in France and Paris in particular. This book delves into people's politics, history and culture in France, Belgium and other countries. There is a certain amount of escape in the story since the lives of these individuals are so unusual and distant from me and my world.
The wealth and style of the Epain family is far from my everyday experience. The stories of wealth and power remind me of things I notice in New York, Singapore, London, and other centers of the high upper class. One percenters. The big mega funders of political election campaigns going on right now in our country connect in The Last Baron and The Bettencourt Affair.
The lives depicted feel very real and I like the careful footnoting. I wish the book had an index.
The wealth and style of the Epain family is far from my everyday experience. The stories of wealth and power remind me of things I notice in New York, Singapore, London, and other centers of the high upper class. One percenters. The big mega funders of political election campaigns going on right now in our country connect in The Last Baron and The Bettencourt Affair.
The lives depicted feel very real and I like the careful footnoting. I wish the book had an index.
January 29, 2023
A short Belgian man builds a multinational industrial empire through relentless effort, vision, good luck, and by turning a blind eye to the rapacious mistreatment of the native Congolese. His son grows up to be a womanizing profligate who collaborates with the occupying Nazis during WW2. *His* grandson grows up to be a womanizing gambling addict who pulls off one of the greatest corporate takeovers in Europe, but then gets kidnapped by a ragtag bunch of criminals for a huge ransom.
The story is well told and it's hard to put the book down, but it is a bit bleak from the viewpoint of moral virtue - by which I mean it's hard to find any. I suppose history is often like that. Nevertheless, it's a compelling human drama that tells the rise and fall of a family empire and fortune.
The story is well told and it's hard to put the book down, but it is a bit bleak from the viewpoint of moral virtue - by which I mean it's hard to find any. I suppose history is often like that. Nevertheless, it's a compelling human drama that tells the rise and fall of a family empire and fortune.
January 25, 2023
I picked this up because I enjoyed the author's Bettencourt book and I loved this one just as much! It's a fascinating story enthrallingly told, mixing true crime and social and industrial history, with a multigenerational family saga to boot.
The book works on many levels and can be read in multiple ways. For fans of true crime, you can read through it like a thriller novel. For those of a more academic bent, you can read it, as I did, with a marker in the copious endnotes (invisible in the text itself). About three times per page I thought, "How could the author possibly know that?" but everything was impeccably sourced and meticulously cited. It's a rare author who can strike that balance. First class reportage and first rate writing: History that reads like a page-turner novel. Highly recommend!
The book works on many levels and can be read in multiple ways. For fans of true crime, you can read through it like a thriller novel. For those of a more academic bent, you can read it, as I did, with a marker in the copious endnotes (invisible in the text itself). About three times per page I thought, "How could the author possibly know that?" but everything was impeccably sourced and meticulously cited. It's a rare author who can strike that balance. First class reportage and first rate writing: History that reads like a page-turner novel. Highly recommend!
April 1, 2023
I knew absolutely nothing about any of the characters in the book or the story. It was well worth it. This is an amazing narrative and so much history and back story not only of the victim but also his family and the abductors.
Love non fiction like this when you walk away with a fascinating piece of history. The background about leopold and the Belgian regime in the Congo alone was worth it!!
Love non fiction like this when you walk away with a fascinating piece of history. The background about leopold and the Belgian regime in the Congo alone was worth it!!
May 29, 2023
Interesting
I wasn't familiar with this kidnapping but I love history on France (more recent and past). I've eaten at one of the restaurants mentioned which I find an odd coincidence. I found the involvement of the French government incredibly interesting. This is well worth a read
I wasn't familiar with this kidnapping but I love history on France (more recent and past). I've eaten at one of the restaurants mentioned which I find an odd coincidence. I found the involvement of the French government incredibly interesting. This is well worth a read
June 30, 2022
Well written. Although I am certainly old enough to have remembered this kidnapping--I don't.
Nevertheless, the kidnapping was well thought-out (unfortunately for the baron) and executed. I would have like more pictures.
Nevertheless, the kidnapping was well thought-out (unfortunately for the baron) and executed. I would have like more pictures.
July 5, 2022
They did What?
A rip-roaring tale of brilliance, extravagances, intelligence, stupidity, horror, surprise, minutiae, victory, decadence, reality, and utter disbelief. What a tale. What a world. What a tragedy far beyond a kidnapping.
A rip-roaring tale of brilliance, extravagances, intelligence, stupidity, horror, surprise, minutiae, victory, decadence, reality, and utter disbelief. What a tale. What a world. What a tragedy far beyond a kidnapping.
September 26, 2022
great look into a family empire
This is an easy read and an intriguing book. Full of details of the Empain empire’s rise and fall. Thorough research but frequent use of the word vertiginous!
This is an easy read and an intriguing book. Full of details of the Empain empire’s rise and fall. Thorough research but frequent use of the word vertiginous!
June 14, 2025
3.5 stars. Interesting true story with a well crafted timeline. None of the characters were particularly likeable, however, so while they were interesting people, I naturally kept my distance in getting invested in the outcomes.
June 15, 2022
It’s about the kidnapping one a French industrial magnate. The author does a good job of weaving the kidnapping and the creation of the empire by the grandfather. It’s an interesting read.
Read
June 17, 2022Pretty Good; family history best; post-kidnapping more than I wanted to know.
June 23, 2022
History of the Empain industrial empire, the family and a kidnapping ( horrible ). Read it !!
July 29, 2022
Well written depiction of the Empian kidnapping and history of the family.
August 13, 2022
An interesting book regarding an event I didn’t know anything, with good background on other aspects of Paris and French history.
October 26, 2022
Dnf @ 32%
2.5 stars
Just really pretty boring, imo. Beyond the kidnapping, I am not being given new or groundbreaking information or interpretations. Don't need to spend 6 more hrs reading this.
2.5 stars
Just really pretty boring, imo. Beyond the kidnapping, I am not being given new or groundbreaking information or interpretations. Don't need to spend 6 more hrs reading this.
January 16, 2024
Less gripping than I had hoped for. If one is very interested in the life of the Barron this might be for you, but a gripping thriller this is not. A sad end to a pretty inconsequential life.
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