10 Times Millionaires Were Kidnapped

Script written by Nathan Sharp

10 Times Millionaires Were Kidnapped

Sometimes the “struggles” of the rich and the famous are . . . real after all. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at ten millionaires who have been kidnapped.

For this list, we’ll be looking at millionaires, or heirs of millionaires, who have been kidnapped and ransomed. We’ll be excluding children and millionaires who won’t returned alive.

Mohammed Dewji

Africa’s youngest billionaire, Mohammed Dewji has racked up quite a few accomplishments. He’s served as a member of the Tanzanian parliament, and as the owner of the conglomerate MeTL Group, has accumulated a net worth of nearly $2 billion.Unfortunately, that’s also made him a target. On the morning of October 11, 2018, he was kidnapped outside Tanzania’s Colosseum Hotel. His family offered a substantial reward for information, but luckily, Dewji was released on the morning of October 20 for unknown reasons; it’s unclear whether the kidnappers released him on their own accord or if a ransom was paid. Regardless, Dewji was returned safely, except for a few rope burns on his hands and legs.

Eddie Lampert

As the founder, CEO and chairman of ESL Investments, and former chairman of Sears Holding, Eddie Lampert has done preeetty well for himself. In 2003, however, he was kidnapped in a parking lot while leaving work. He spent two days in captivity, but was able to sweet-talk his abductors by promising them $5 million to let him go. They bought it and dropped him off on an exit ramp near a police station. And no, they never saw their money. In fact, the ringleader, Renaldo Rose, was later arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Charles F. Urschel

Here’s a man who could think on his toes! On July 22, 1933, wealthy oil tycoon Charles F. Urschel was kidnapped by none other than Machine Gun Kelly. No, not THAT Machine Gun Kelly. The actual Machine Gun Kelly! Kelly and his associate, Albert Bates, stormed Urschel’s residence and abducted Urschel and his guest, Walter Jarrett, while they were playing bridge. Urschel was taken to a farmhouse, where he diligently studied his environment, despite being blindfolded, which later helped the authorities locate the hideout. Urschel was released after eight days once his family paid a ransom of $200,000 - about $4 million today. In the end, Machine Gun Kelly and his associates were caught and put behind bars.

Victor Li Tzar-kuoi

It sounds like the plot of a gangster film. But for Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, it was all too real. The current chairman of multinational conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, Victor Li is the son of Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-shing, who’s worth roughly $32.8 BILLION! In 1996, Victor Li was kidnapped by notorious Chinese gangster Cheung Tze-keung. Cheung later walked into Li’s house and personally received HK$1 billion in cash in exchange for the release of the business magnate’s son. Cheung was later arrested in August 1998 and tried for a number of crimes, including the kidnappings of Victor Li and Walter Kwok, the chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties. Sentenced to death, he was executed by firing squad the same year.

Jorge & Juan Born

This family knew when to make a deal. Siblings Jorge and Juan Born were key members of Bunge & Born, an Argentinian food corporation. Founded in 1884 by Ernest Bunge and his brother-in-law, Jorge Born, the company grew to control 80% of Argentina’s cereal exports. On September 19, 1974, family heirs Jorge and Juan Born were kidnapped by a terrorist group known as the Montoneros. They were held for nine months before a ransom of $60 million was reportedly paid for their release, the largest paid ransom in history at the time. To make the story even more incredible, Jorge Born later went into business with one of his kidnappers, the Montonero strategist Rodolfo Galimberti.

Freddy Heineken

In 1864, a man named Gerard Heineken persuaded his mother to buy a local brewery called De Hooiberg. Nearly ten years later, the first Heineken beer was introduced to the public. Fast forward to 1983, and Gerard’s grandson Freddy is Heineken’s CEO, having assumed the role in 1971. On November 9, however, Freddy and his driver were kidnapped in front of Heineken’s office. They were chained inside a soundproof Quonset hut for three weeks before a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders - the equivalent of $20 million - was paid by the family. The masterminds, Cor van Hout and Willem Holleeder, were soon caught and thrown behind the bars.

Édouard-Jean Empain

It might have been easy to envy the life of Baron Édouard-Jean Empain, a French-Belgian industrialist born into wealth, who served as the CEO of Schneider-Empain. That is, without his brutal and exhausting kidnapping in 1978. On the morning of January 23, Empain’s car was intercepted and hijacked by a French guerilla organization. The following day, his family was told to go to the Gare de Lyon, where they found Empain’s severed finger and a letter demanding 80 million francs. After several weeks, numerous phone calls and letters, and a police shootout with three casualties, Empain was released. Following a studious investigation by the police, the kidnappers were eventually arrested, but Empain admitted he was never the same.

Frank Sinatra Jr.

It can’t always be easy being the son of someone so famous. On December 8, 1963, two men – Barry Keenan and Joe Amsler – kidnapped Frank Sinatra Jr. at the Harrah’s Club Lodge in Lake Tahoe. A third accomplice, John Irwin, called Frank Sr. and demanded $240,000 for his son’s release. Frank agreed, but while Keenan and Amsler picked up the money, Irwin snapped under the pressure, freeing Sinatra Jr. early. He later revealed the whole plan to his brother - who contacted the FBI. All three were caught and convicted, but after four and a half years in prison mastermind Barry Keenan was found legally insane and released. He later raked in millions as a real estate developer.

John Paul Getty III

There’s no sugarcoating this one. John was the grandson of J. Paul Getty, the founder of the Getty Oil Company. In 1973, 16-year-old John was kidnapped by the Mafia in Rome and taken to a cave. The captors demanded $17 million, but Getty refused, stating that a payout would only encourage criminals to kidnap his other children. In response, John’s captors tortured him, playing Russian Roulette with him and cutting off his ear. Finally, his family caved and paid $2.9 million. John later abused alcohol and drugs to numb the pain of the kidnapping, and in 1981, he overdosed and suffered a stroke that left him quadriplegic, partially blind, and mute. He died in 2011 at the age of 54.

Patty Hearst

It only gets darker from here. The granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, Patty Hearst was kidnapped by a left-wing terrorist group, the Symbionese Liberation Army, in 1974. While imprisoned, she was indoctrinated and raped before declaring herself a member of the SLA. She later partook in various crimes, including bank robberies, shootings, and concocting explosives. 19 months after her abduction, she was arrested, and defended by F. Lee Bailey - who would go on to also defend O. J. Simpson. Unlike O. J. however, Patty was found guilty, and sentenced to seven years in prison. President Jimmy Carter later commuted her sentence to time served; she was released in 1979, and in 2001 granted a full pardon by Bill Clinton.