The story of J. Paul Getty and how his enormous wealth, $4 billion divided between nineteen heirs, wreaked havoc with the lives of his family. "When sixteen-year-old Paul Getty was kidnapped, the news exploded worldwide. But his grandfather, J. Paul Getty, the richest living American, refused to pay the ransom, oblivious to his sufferings. And as the days dragged painfully on, it was Paul's distraught but determined mother Gail who was left to negotiate with his captors... In this full biography of the Getty family, John Pearson traces the creation of their phenomenal wealth and the ways in which it has touched and tainted the lives of various generations. Packed with colorful characters, bitter feuds and unexpected turns, it is a riveting insight into the lives of the super-rich." -- Page [4] cover.

"First published in Great Britain as Painfully Rich by Macmillan in 1995" -- T.p. verso. Movie tie-in.