John Paul Getty Jr.
Sir Paul Getty KBE | |
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Born | Eugene Paul Getty 7 September 1932 |
Died | 17 April 2003 Westminster, London, England | (aged 70)
Citizenship | British |
Education | St. Ignatius College Preparatory |
Alma mater | University of San Francisco |
Spouses |
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Children | 5, including John III, Mark and Ariadne |
Parents |
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Family | Getty |
Sir Paul Getty
At birth, he was given the name Eugene Paul Getty, but in later life, he adopted other names, including Paul Getty, John Paul Getty, Jean Paul Getty Jr. and John Paul Getty II. In 1973, his son John Paul Getty III was held captive in Italy, as J. Paul Getty refused to pay a ransom. In 1986, he was awarded an honorary knighthood for services to causes ranging from cricket, to art and to the Conservative Party. His honorary knighthood would eventually become substantive upon the required acquisition of British citizenship. A long-time Anglophile,[1] he became a British citizen in 1997. In 1998, he changed his name by deed poll when he renounced the first name Eugene and wished to be known as Sir Paul Getty KBE.[2]
Early life
John Paul Jr. was born on board ship in the waters near Genoa, Italy, on 7 September 1932, while his parents Ann and J. Paul Getty were travelling. His birth was registered at La Spezia with the name Eugenio Paul Getty, when the Italian notary misheard the name John. He would legally alter his name with the Italian authorities to John Paul in 1958.[3]
He was initially raised in
In 1938, Ann married her third husband, Joseph Stanton McInerney, and the family moved to
Marriages
His first marriage was to Abigail "Gail" Harris, a former water polo champion. They divorced in 1964, having had four children: John Paul Getty III, Mark Getty, Ariadne Getty and Aileen Getty. His daughter, Aileen Getty, is an AIDS activist formerly married to Elizabeth Taylor's son Christopher Wilding; married since 2005 to Bartolomeo Ruspoli (b 1978), son of Prince Alessandro Ruspoli.[9]
His second marriage was to the
Personal problems
After he married Talitha in 1966, the couple became immersed in the counterculture of the 1960s, living between Rome, Italy, and Marrakesh, Morocco. During a trip to Thailand, the couple developed serious heroin addictions. When Getty Sr., who abhorred taking drugs of any kind, heard of his son's addiction, he insisted on his becoming sober. Paul Jr. refused and tendered his resignation from Getty Oil Italiana. The couple lived off his income from the family trust, which amounted to $100,000 a year. In 1969, he and Talitha separated as she decided to focus on becoming sober. He purchased No. 16 Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, London, where the Victorian artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti had lived in the 1860s, for Talitha and their son, Tara, to live in, while he remained in Rome.[11]
Death of Talitha
After living apart for several years, Talitha, who was sober at the time, asked Paul Jr. for a divorce in early 1971. Still in love with his wife, he insisted that she come to Rome and try for a reconciliation. When her lawyer advised her that divorce proceedings would be easier if she could show that she had attempted reconciliation with Paul, she left for Rome on 9 July.[12] On the morning of 11 July 1971, she was found dead in the Getty apartment in Piazza d'Aracoeli. The autopsy ruled that she had alcohol and barbiturates in her system, but rumours flared up that she had suffered a heroin relapse while spending time with Getty, who was still embroiled in his addiction.[13]
In December 1971, Italian authorities announced that an inquest would be held into Talitha's death the following March. They requested Getty meet with investigators to describe the circumstances surrounding her death. Afraid his own drug addiction would result in his being indicted and potentially imprisoned, Getty left for England.
Son's kidnapping
After his second wife's death, Getty became reclusive for a time and his heroin addiction worsened, fueled by guilt over his wife's death.
In Rome on 10 July 1973, 'Ndrangheta kidnappers abducted Getty's 16-year-old son, John Paul Getty III, and demanded a $17 million (equivalent to $112 million in 2022[14]) payment for his safe return. However, the family suspected a ploy by the rebellious teenager to extract money from his miserly grandfather.[15] Getty Jr. asked his father J. Paul Getty for the money, but was refused, arguing that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid.[16]
In November 1973, an envelope containing a lock of hair and a human ear arrived at a daily newspaper. The second demand had been delayed three weeks by an Italian postal strike.[15] The demand threatened that Paul would be further mutilated unless the victims paid $3.2 million. The demand stated "This is Paul's ear. If we don't get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits."[15]
When the kidnappers finally reduced their demands to $3 million, J. Paul Getty agreed to pay no more than $2.2 million (equivalent to $14.5 million in 2022[14]), the maximum that would be tax-deductible. He lent Getty Jr. the remaining $800,000 at four per cent interest. Getty's grandson was found alive on 15 December 1973, in a Lauria filling station, in the province of Potenza, shortly after the ransom was paid.[17] Nine of the kidnappers were apprehended, including Girolamo Piromalli and Saverio Mammoliti, high-ranking members of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia organization in Calabria.[18][19] Two of the kidnappers were convicted and sent to prison; the others were acquitted for lack of evidence, including the 'Ndrangheta bosses. Most of the ransom money was never recovered.[20][21]
Getty III was permanently affected by the trauma and became a drug addict. After a stroke brought on by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol in 1981, Getty III was rendered speechless, nearly blind and partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. He died on 5 February 2011, at the age of 54.[18]
Later life
Following his father's death in 1976, Getty spent the next decade suffering from depression and checked himself into
Paul III struggled with
Wormsley Park
During his nine-month stint in The London Clinic, Getty purchased a dilapidated country estate in
At Wormsley, Getty hosted his estranged family and improved his relations with his children and ex-wife.
Philanthropy
Getty donated more than £140m to artistic and cultural causes, from which the
Getty served as president of
His personal fortune was estimated at £1.6 billion. His donations included support for the
Death
Getty died at age 70 on 17 April 2003, having been admitted for treatment to The London Clinic for a chest infection.[35]
Media portrayals
Getty Jr. is portrayed by
References
- ^ a b "BBC profile: Sir John Paul Getty II". BBC News. 13 June 2001. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
- ^ "No. 55124". The London Gazette. 12 May 1998. p. 5324.
- ISBN 9780312135799.
- ISBN 9780312135799.
- ISBN 9780312135799.
- ISBN 9780595282791.
- ISBN 9780312135799.
- ISBN 9780312135799.
- ^ American writer/columnist Liz Smith made several mistakes in reporting the second marriage, notably that there were two Aileen Gettys and that the first one (Taylor's ex-daughter-in-law) had died, and that the bride's father had died in 1971 (he was very much alive) "Heirs Plan Secret Wedding" Archived 27 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine, 26 April 2005; the New York Times mentioned the marriage in an August 2006 article
- ^ NNDb profile for J. Paul Getty Jr. Retrieved 21 November 2007. At some point, Tara dropped his third and fourth names. In 1999, an Irish newspaper revealed that he and six other family members had been granted Irish passports and citizenship, and he was now known as Tara Gabriel Getty.
- ISBN 9780312135799.
- ISBN 9780312135799.
- ^ ISBN 9780312135799.
- ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ a b c "Sir Paul Getty (obituary)". The Daily Telegraph. London, England. 17 April 2003. Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ "Profile: Sir John Paul Getty II". BBC News. London, England. 13 June 2001. Archived from the original on 18 February 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ "Il rapimento di Paul Getty". Il Post (in Italian). July 10, 2013. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ a b Weber, Bruce (7 February 2011). "J. Paul Getty III, 54, Dies; Had Ear Cut Off by Captors". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ Catching the Kidnappers, Time, 28 January 1974
- ^ J. Paul Getty III, 54, Dies; Had Ear Cut Off by Captors, The New York Times, 7 February 2011
- ^ "J. Paul Getty III dies at 54; scion of oil dynasty", Los Angeles Times, 7 February 2011
- ^ Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2004; E W Swanton (1996) Last Over.
- ^ Adelson, Suzanne; Wilhelm, Maria (14 December 1981). "Paralyzed and Blind from a Drug Overdose, Paul III is the Star-Crossed Getty". People. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ISBN 978-0312135799.
- ISBN 978-0312135799.
- ^ John Pearson (1995). Painfully Rich. HarperCollins. p. 272.
- ^ a b John Pearson (1995). Painfully Rich. HarperCollins. p. 282.
- ^ John Pearson (1995). Painfully Rich. HarperCollins. p. 290.
- ^ John Pearson (1995). Painfully Rich. HarperCollins. pp. 320–321.
- ^ "American-born Billionaire Getty Knighted By Queen", Chicago Tribune, 10 March 1998; retrieved 15 June 2018.
- ^ "The Roxburghe Club - The oldest society of bibliophiles in the world". www.roxburgheclub.org.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Charlotte Edwardes (16 November 2003). "Getty leaves bulk of fortune to son Mark". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
- New York Times, 13 August 1994; retrieved 31 August 2008.
- ^ John Pearson (1995). Painfully Rich. HarperCollins. p. 271.
- ^ "Billionaire Getty dies". BBC News. 17 April 2003. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ Petski, Denise (21 June 2017). "'Trust': Michael Esper To Co-Star In FX Getty Drama Series; Veronica Echegui To Recur". Deadline Hollywood. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
External links
- BBC News obituary for Paul Getty
- New York Times obituary of J Paul Getty
- Sir Paul Getty – Daily Telegraph obituary
- Getty family genealogy; page last updated on 6 September 2000.