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Painfully Rich
Painfully Rich: J. Paul Getty and His Heirs | John Pearson
3 posts | 4 read | 4 to read
Oil tycoon J. Paul Gerry created the greatest fortune in America - and came close to destroying his own family in the process. Of his four sons who reached manhood, only one survived relatively unscathed. One killed himself, one became a drug-addicted recluse and the third had to bear the stigma all his life of being disinherited in childhood. The unhappiness continued into the next generation, with the name Getty, as one journalist put it, 'becoming synonymous for family dysfunction'. Getty's once favourite grandson John Paul Getty III was kidnapped by the Italian mafia who cut off his ear to raise a ransom and, after a lifetime of drink and drugs, became a paraplegic. His granddaughter Aileen has AIDS. And the Getty family itself has been torn apart by litigation over their poisoned inheritance. But did the disaster have to happen? John Pearson, who has specialized in biographies of families as varied as the Churchills, the British Royal Family, the Devonshires and the Krays, sets out to find the answer. The result, first published in 1995, is a fascinating saga of an extraordinary dynasty. He traces much of the trouble to the bizarre character of the avaricious, sex-obsessed billionaire, J. Paul Getty himself - and demonstrates how much of his behaviour has been repeated in succeeding generations. He describes the famous kidnapping of his grandson in graphic detail, revealing how the old man's attitude added considerably to the boy's sufferings. And he shows how the family has coped with the latest modern scourges: drugs and AIDS. For Painfully Rich is not a hopeless story. While some of the family have been damaged by the Getty legacy, others have saved themselves from disaster, most notably the cricket-loving philanthropist, J. Paul Getty Jr. Pearson's moving story of his recovery from drugs and deep personal tragedy shows that there is hope for future generations of this stricken family - and demonstrates that money can be used to buy survival and even happiness.
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TheBookStacker
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I leave for a trip home to Ohio tomorrow so spending the afternoon watching movies with the pup before she goes to the vet for the week. She hates her cone.

Hooked_on_books What a cute conehead! 6y
Tanzy13 🐶 6y
wanderinglynn Aw, poor baby! ❤️🐶 6y
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youngreadrshelf Mine always did too. They now make cones that are like small, blow-up inner tubes around their necks. My 3-year-old pup liked that better. 6y
TheBookStacker @youngreadrshelf yes I heard of those I wish we would‘ve gotten it but she‘s off at the kennel now so hopefully she can last a few more days with the cone. 6y
youngreadrshelf @TheBookStacker I‘m sure it will all work out! 🙂 6y
55 likes6 comments
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DebinHawaii
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#Aprella #AmericanMoney?I don't think you can talk about American money without J.Paul Getty being part of the conversation. I just watched "All the Money in the World" about the 1973 kidnapping of his 16-year old grandson, John Paul Getty III & it's based on this book which I put on my #TBR. If you don't know the story, J. Paul Getty first refused to pay ransom then finally contributed $1 million-the maximum amount that would be tax deductible.

DebinHawaii ...Speaking of American money, check out this NYT article about the difference in $$$ between Mark Wahlburg and Michelle Williams's salaries for the film's reshoot. #genderpaygap 😡
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/01/10/business/media/spacey-whalberg-williams-al...
7y
Reviewsbylola Wow, I didn‘t know this story at all! 7y
emilyhaldi I don't know this story but for some reason it reminds me of a difference case I watched on ID channel with @Mdargusch ... Barbara Mackle was kidnapped for ransom and locked in a box underground for 3 days waiting for her ransom to be paid by her wealthy father. 🤯🤯🤯 @Reviewsbylola u gotta look it up 7y
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mrp27 Fascinated by this story. I didn't see the movie but I'm currently watching Trust on Paramount about the kidnapping. This version is suggesting that that Paul jr. was in on the kidnapping. Since I've moved back to California I've been dying to visit the Getty museum. 7y
Mdargusch Wow! This dates me because I remember this @Reviewsbylola and @emilyhaldi 👂🏻 7y
batsy I watched the movie, which was incredibly tedious. But the story riveted me in that "rich people's logic is so horrifying" way. I'm guessing the book might be a lot more interesting. 7y
Cinfhen Fascinating #stacked 7y
78 likes1 stack add7 comments
review
Jazzper2
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Mehso-so

This is a tough book to read. Definitely not a feel good book. I‘m almost at the end and am getting uncomfortable about the read, namely because of the fact that some of the people in the book are still alive. It feels disrespectful — I don‘t think I‘d like to have a book written about my family and our skeletons. Not that my family is book worthy but, still.