Which Getty heir was kidnapped in Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World?

John Paul Getty III was the Getty heir kidnapped in Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World. The real kidnapping took place in Rome in 1973, when Getty was 16 years old. He was the grandson of oil billionaire J. Paul Getty, then one of the world’s wealthiest private citizens.

The kidnappers initially demanded $17 million. Getty’s mother, Gail Harris, pleaded with the family patriarch for help, but J. Paul Getty refused, arguing that paying would encourage further kidnappings. He eventually agreed to provide a smaller amount, and the ransom was negotiated down to about $4 million. Getty’s grandson was held for months, and his captors famously cut off one of his ears and sent it to a newspaper as proof that the threat was real.

The film dramatizes the rescue effort involving Gail and Getty adviser Fletcher Chace. It also fictionalizes or compresses some details, so the movie is not a complete documentary account. A common mix-up is confusing John Paul Getty III with his grandfather, J. Paul Getty, the famously reluctant payer.