A movie that came out recently that I really wanted to see was All the Money in the World about the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III. I probably won’t see it until it’s out on Netflix because all my movie theater experiences are driven by teenage boys (Star Wars, anything Marvel related).
Spoiler alert: Don’t read ahead if you haven’t seen the movie and still want to.
Known as Paul, the kidnap victim was the grandson of industrialist tycoon J. Paul Getty. The Senior Getty, although worth untold millions, refused to pay initial $17million ransom. He finally negotiated the ransom demand down to $3million after receiving his grandson’s severed ear in the mail. He paid $2.2million himself. This amount was the maximum he could get a tax deduction for. The remaining $800,000 he loaned to his son, the victim’s father, at 4% interest.
Now, that all may seem pretty cold. There could be other ways Mr. Getty could have saved money. For example, he was married five times. Ex-wives are super-expensive. Just ask Phil Collins. But, J. Paul Getty thought that by paying this first ransom, he would be endangering his other 14 grandchildren and encouraging terrorism and lawlessness. *
Here are some other things extremely wealthy people have done for love. Would these tokens of affection be enough for you to stick around?
Kobe Bryant
After being accused of raping a 19-year-old hotel employee in Vail, Kobe bought his wife (and brand-new mother of his baby) a $4 million diamond ring. Um, not enough for me to stick around, but Vanessa stuck by her man.
Kendall Jenner
On her 21st birthday was gifted a Rolls Royce by a complete stranger. A much older man, of course. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting anything in return.
Jaden Smith
For Mother’s Day gave his mom Jada Pinkett Smith a $500 gold grill to wear on her teeth. I’ll stick with getting kitchen supplies and earrings from Kohl’s from my kids.**
As you can see, there is a gift for every occasion and money can sometimes get you out of trouble spots. All the more reason to meet with a financial planner to move toward those (sometimes bizarre) fiscal goals!
*Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Paul_Getty
**Source: http://people.com/celebrity/extravagant-celebrity-gifts-price-tag/
