Pay Ransom facts
While investigating facts about Pay Ransom, I found out little known, but curios details like:
When 16 year old John Paul Getty III was kidnapped in 1973, his billionaire grandfather refused to pay $17 million ransom. After the kidnappers mailed Getty's ear to a newspaper, his grandfather only agreed to pay $2.2 million because that was the maximum amount that was tax deductible.
In 1978, Charlie Chaplin's body was stolen and held for ransom. His widow refused to pay ransom demands of £400,000 because "Charlie would have thought it ridiculous." The body was found 11 weeks later.
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 36 of the best facts about Pay Ransom I managed to collect.
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James Cameron saved Guillermo del Toro's father from Mexican kidnappers by paying the $1,000,000 ransom
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James Cameron took good friend Guillermo del Toro to a bank and withdrew $1 million in cash to pay the ransom for the safe return of his kidnapped father
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J. Paul Getty refused to pay for his grandson's ransom. When an ear arrived by mail and the kidnappers lowered the sum to $3m instead of $17m, he agreed to pay only $2.2 million - the maximum amount that would be tax deductible. He lent his son the remaining $800.000, at a 4% interest.
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When Guillermo Del Toro's father was kidnapped, director James Cameron gave Del Toro over $1 million in cash to help pay the ransom.
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Frank Sinatra's son was kidnapped in 1963 and Sinatra ended up paying $240,000 (about $2,000,000 adjusted for inflation) in ransom before his son was safely returned.
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In 1978, Charlie Chaplin's body was stolen and held for ransom. His widow refused to pay ransom demands of £400,000 because "Charlie would have thought it ridiculous." The body was found 11 weeks later.
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In 1973, Billionaire J. Paul Getty's 16yo grandson was kidnapped by Italian gangsters. Thinking it was a scheme set up by the grandson himself to make money, Getty refused to pay the ransom. Three months later, the grandson's ear arrived in the mail.
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J. Paul Getty III, who was kidnapped in Rome at age 16 and held for five months (his wealthy grandfather refused to pay any ransom until Getty's severed ear was mailed to him) suffered a stroke just 9 years after his release that left him blind and a quadriplegic.
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James Cameron is a close friend of Guillermo del Toro. Around 1997, Del Toro's father, Federico del Toro, was kidnapped in Guadalajara. After learning of the kidnapping, Cameron gave Del Toro over $1 million in cash to help pay the ransom. After 72 days, del Toro's father was released.
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In 1987, the hands from the corpse of Juan Perón, former President of Argentina, were stolen from his tomb and held for an $8 million ransom. The Justicialist Party, which Perón had founded, refused to pay the ransom and the hands were never found.
A Russian wedding tradition called ''Paying the ransom'' whereas the groom arrives at the bride’s home, he must pay a big enough ransom for the bride until the parents of the bride accept it. The event is played out in a comical fashion and everyone is entertained. - source
When released from captivity of Somali pirates by paying $592k ransom in 2008, Jürgen Kantner said "I pray to God they won’t catch us again," referring to him and his wife. He was captured again in 2016 by a Filipino terrorist group and was later killed after failing to pay the $600k ransom - source
In Serbia gifts are given in a form of ransom, on Detinjci morn, parents tie up their children and neighboring children, on Materice children tie up their mothers, Oci the children tie up their fathers. The person being tied must pay ransom to get untied.
In parts of Eastern Europe, Easter Monday is celebrated by dragging young women to a nearby river, dunking them in water, and whipping them with branches. Girls can save themselves by paying a ransom of painted eggs - source
Because of the United States' policy against paying ransoms, US citizens are almost twice as likely to die in hostage situations than citizens from other Western nations.
The United States was once a tributary of the Ottomans. From 1786 to 1794, the US paid ransom to the The Barbary States for safe passage across the Mediterranean. The Barbary States were nominally a governed of the Ottoman Empire, so we were actually paying tribute to the Ottomans.
Guillermo del Toro's father was kidnapped and held captive for 72 days, until James Cameron offered to pay off the $1 million ransom.
In 1997, at the age of 33, Guillermo was given a $30 million budget from Miramax Films to shoot another film, Mimic. During this time, his father was kidnapped in Guadalajara. Del Toro's family had to pay twice the amount originally asked for as a ransom."
Julius Caesar was once captured and held at ransom by pirates for 38 days. He laughed at the original ransom of 20 talents, offering instead to pay 50, and befriended his captors joining in their games and exercises. Upon his release, he returned to capture and crucify all of them
