The tragic life of J. Paul Getty III, grandson of the late oil tycoon who long held the title “The World’s Richest Man,” is testimony to the truth that wealth is no match for a family culture devoid of ethics.
Getty III, known to his friends as Paul, died last week at the age of 54. He had been confined to a wheelchair-bound for 30 years, after a drug overdose caused a stroke that left him paralyzed, mute and mostly blind. His father, J. Paul Getty II, who had little contact with his son after divorcing his mother when Paul was a child, refused to help him with any of his inherited billions, declaring that his son had earned his misfortune with his irresponsible ways. In truth, few sons have been given more reason to doubt their self-worth based on their callous treatment by their father figures.
Getty was just 16 and living on his own in Rome (he had been expelled by several private schools; eventually the total was seven),when he was kidnapped on July 10, 1973.
His mother, Gail Harris, received a ransom request. No longer married, she said she had little money to pay for the release of her son, who had written her a desperate note. “Dear Mummy,” his note began, “Since Monday I have fallen into the hands of kidnappers. Don’t let me be killed.”
She implored Paul’s grandfather, J. Paul Getty, the billionaire founder of the Getty Oil Company, to pay the ransom, reported to be 17 million dollars. He refused, arguing that he had fourteen grandchildren and “If I pay one penny now, I’ll have 14 kidnapped grandchildren.” “And have to pay for them too,” was the unspoken point. Paul’s father simply said he could not afford to pay.
Three months after the abduction, the kidnappers sent Getty’s severed ear to one Roman newspaper, and photographs of the mutilated teenager to another. Eventually the kidnappers reduced their ransom to $3 million. J. Paul Getty reluctantly agreed to pay $2.2 million of it, the most that his accountants advised would be tax-deductible. J. Paul Getty paid the balance, borrowing it from his father, at 4 percent interest.
After Paul’s release, his mother said that he should call his grandfather to thank him for paying some of the ransom. When he did, the patriarch could not be bothered to come to the phone. He soon married, and began abusing drugs and alcohol. After his stroke, he had to sue his father, who had inherited J. Paul Getty’s fortune, for the $28,000 a month Paul’s around-the-clock medical care required. At the time, J. Paul Getty II was contributing hundreds of millions to English sports, arts, and Great Britain’s Conservative Party. He did not believe that his son, crippled and desperate, deserved a penny.
John Paul Gettty III was born into great wealth, but also into a family that did not regard caring, kindness, empathy or compassion as useful values. “A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure,” opined J.Paul Getty in a typical quote. Ethical values are ultimately validated in practice. A culture may experiment with novel theories of right and wrong, but eventually will discover if they are truly ethical by the health and well-being of society and its members. The Getty family adopted a set of priorities that placed wealth and greed above family, love, respect and decency, and the life of J. Paul Getty III was the tragic result. I would say a thoroughly predictable result.
Those values don’t work; they never have. Paul Getty, as much as anything else, was killed by warped ethics.
Ethics Alarms 
Jack,
No man is his brother’s keeper (or son’s or grandson’s). Paul Getty III died of a tragic medical condition brought about by recklessness in his youth. His family was cold, uncaring, and unethical, but they share no culpability in his death. If I see someone drowning and refuse to offer help, that may be morally reprehensible, but it’s not the same as throwing them in the water in the first place.
-Neil
But I know you understand that I don’t mean “death by ethics” literally, Neil. JPG 3 was raised in a toxic environment, and his problems and end was, if not pre-ordained, more than likely. He is responsible for his own fate as we all are, but there is little doubt in my mind that a caring and responsible father and a loving environment would have led him down a very different path.
Jack,
I will go with you. My father reared me and I lived with him for 30 years of my life. Six of us cannot think of a single day that our father had not enlivened the place with such great joy and affection giving each of us the words of wisdom and encouragement to enjoy life. He died in 1974 and there is not a single day that I had not remembered his deed that comes back as a flash when I hear or see various events of life neglecting care or affection towards fellow human beings, as to how he would have set it right. He was a headmaster and many of his students carry a small photograph of his in their purse. My cousin worships him like God. When I read this story I immediately remembered him how well he would have treated the boy begging for help and such an event would never have occurred in the first instance. When he died he was earning a monthly sum of Rs.500 as salary equivalent to $10. Money is not everything. Your poignant story rattled my memories of time including the era when Italy was rocked by these kidnappers and their Prime Minister was thrown in the dustbin. I vividly remember Paul Getty the miser refusing to pay the ransom.
Is it wrong to refuse to pay a ransom if you don’t want to encourage further kidnappings? (I’m sure this issue could have its own article, almost)
As policy? No, it’s not wrong. When it’s your own son or grandson? Maybe. If Getty wasn’t so famously cheap, maybe we could believe that he was being protective of other potential victims. Nobody believes that, however.
Sad, sad story.
Money is the most important thing in the world.This is Americas great contribution-anything can be reduced to this simple view and has been. Scientist, teachers, lawyers, politicians, bankers, doctors, educated to follow orders by the people who “own” the world.The military is deemed an alternative for poor, uneducated folk. In my opinion all billionaires and the multi millionaires are certified criminals.
You are absolutly right!
What a sick sick sick man this JPG was! Im sure he was a childmolester!
What a sick sick man this JPG was! Im sure he was a child molester at least! He is a very good example what money makes out of you. No wonder he was taking drugs. Its because he never got love and care by his parents. But this poor sick man will get what he deserves: hell.
“He is a very good example what money makes out of you.”
And that is a very good example of a silly, offensive, ignorant, bigoted and unwarranted generalization.
My special needs son watched the film released recently in the uk played by Christopher Plummer and was shocked to see an ear being cut off. There is nothing greater than the power of love. It is more powerful than any money imagined. My son is precious to me and gives me unadulterated love every day. I’m not wealthy but comfortable and if anything ever happened to him I would spend every £ I had if it meant I was to be homeless. A lesson learnt by nurturing and loving your child from day one brings a confident and loved child who will go on to accomplish great things in life. This is a very tragic story of a child left unloved and guided in the world. God rest his soul. Shame that greed and power got in the way. Huge wealth is the route of all evils. Enough said.