Event in which a father refused to pay for the ransom of his child so the child's ear was cut off?

Question

Who was they? I think I read something about it last week but can't remember who it was... A child was kidnapped. The father refused to pay for ransom. And in turn, the kidnappers cut off the child's ear. That's when the father paid... Please tell me who that was or what incident? I think the father was famous.

Answer 1

It wasn't a son, but a grandson. J. Paul Getty's, the oil tycoon, 16 year old grandson, J. Paul Getty III, was kidnapped. At first, Getty thought it was a prank and refused to pay the $17 million ransom. Then, a lock of hair and an ear arrived with an offer for $3.2 million. Getty, forever the business man, negotiated the ransom down to $2 million and his grandson was released, but the kidnapper were never caught. Getty III became a drug addict due to ordeal.

Answer 2

And very, very rich--enough to have his weird doings passed off as "eccentricities.' It was J. Paul Getty, of the oil fortune.