When oil scion John Paul Getty III was kidnapped in Italy, some thought it was a hoax – until his ear arrived in the mail.

On July 10, 1973, 16-year-old John Paul Getty III, grandson of billionaire J. Paul Getty was kidnapped. He was held for a hefty ransom. During his time in captivity, his ear was brutally severed.

John Paul Getty III’s recent death brings to a close a tragic chapter in the wealthy family’s decades-long drama of strife and eccentricity. Anthony Haden-Guest reports on their woe.

If you thought what happened to 16-year-old John Paul Getty III in Ridley Scott’s new movie “All the Money in the World” was bad, the aftermath of his 1973 kidnapping was not much better ...

John Paul Getty III: it ends - kidnapping, lost ear, drugs, family saga (genevalunch.com) Proof that money can't buy happiness: John Paul Getty III destroyed by his family's billions (The Daily Mail) ...

John Paul Getty III After the Kidnapping: How Drugs and Torment Destroyed Billionaire Heir John Paul Getty III "squandered his genealogical inheritance," said journalist A. Craig Copetas.

No, it was incredulity at J Paul Getty’s refusal to pay the ransom when 16-year-old John Paul Getty III was abducted by the Roman Mafia in 1973.

Donald Sutherland, Hillary Swank and Brendan Fraser star in Trust, the real story of how teenage John Paul Getty III was abducted in 1973 and a his billionaire grandfather's refusal to pay ransom ...

When John Paul Getty III was kidnapped in 1973, his captors infamously cut off his right ear. His grandfather initially refused to part with a penny of his massive wealth to help.

J. Paul Getty III (AP Photo, file) PAUL SANCYA (CBS/AP) J. Paul Getty III, the troubled grandson of one of the world's richest men, who lost an ear in a grisly kidnapping as a teenager and ...

If you thought what happened to 16-year-old John Paul Getty III in Ridley Scott’s new movie “All the Money in the World” was bad, the aftermath of his 1973 kidnapping was not much better.