which american oil tycoon haggled with the kidnappers when his grandson was taken in 1973?

The American oil tycoon was J. Paul Getty. He became famous for refusing to immediately pay the ransom when his grandson, John Paul Getty III, was kidnapped in 1973, and the case later turned into a major international story.

Quick scoop

• Who: J. Paul Getty.

• What happened: His grandson was kidnapped in Rome in 1973 and ransom negotiations followed.

• Why he’s remembered: He initially refused to pay, then later contributed to the ransom after the kidnapping escalated.

TL;DR

It was J. Paul Getty — the oil magnate whose grandson’s kidnapping became one of the most notorious ransom cases of the 1970s.