John Paul Getty III Dies In England
Filed under: Wealth
John Paul Getty III, the grandson of John Paul Getty, once the richest man in the world, died over the weekend in England at the age of 54. Getty is shown at right with his mother Gail Harris in 1973 after his kidnapping by a gang of criminals who held him hostage for five months in Italy when he was just a teenager. His son, actor Balthazar Getty, confirmed Tuesday Feb. 8, 2011 that his father died surrounded by his family at his English mansion in Buckinghamshire, northwest of London. The cause of death has not been released.The 1973 kidnapping resulted in John Paul Getty III losing an ear. John Paul Getty had refused to help pay the ransom believing his other grandchildren would also be at risk. After the kidnappers sent the boy's ear to a newspaper the ransom was paid. Eight years later in 1981, John Paul Getty III suffered a drug overdose which led to a near-fatal stroke that left him a quadriplegic, virtually blind and confined to a wheelchair. He has been looked after by his mother, Gail, and caregivers.
After the death of John Paul Getty in 1976, John Paul Getty III and his mother later sued John Paul Getty Jr. over the cost of his medical bills. In 1981 a judge ruled that Getty Jr. must pay for his son's medical care. The two were estranged for many years but reportedly made peace before Getty Jr.'s death in 2003 although Getty Jr. left the bulk of his fortune to his other son Mark.
He spent many years at Gurthalougha House in County Tipperary overlooking the river Shannon in Ireland. Getty and his mother Gail had moved into the 12-bedroom Victorian shooting lodge 12 years ago and paid an estimated £1 million. That property is still on the market. Lately he had been living at Wormsley, his father's mansion in the Buckinghamshire Chilterns.
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