In what became the most famous Getty drama, the founder's grandson was kidnapped in 1973. John Paul Getty III, 16, was held in a cave in Italy for three months while the grandfather refused to pay the $17 million ransom demand, saying that it would lead to him having to pay ransoms for all of his grandchildren. A deal to pay a reduced ransom wasn't reached until the kidnappers cut off one of the teenager's ears and sent it to an Italian newspaper.

The grandfather notoriously lent the ransom money to his son John Paul Getty Jr. at 4% interest.