All The Money In The World by John Pearson

Paperback:  Money is the last thing that shall never be subdued.  While there is flesh there is money - or the want of money;  but money is always on the brain, so long as there is a brain in reasonable order. - Samuel Butler - the Notebooks

Inspired by the fortunes and misfortunes of the Getty family, whose most extraordinary and troubled episode - the kidnap and ransom of grandson Paul Getty - is now a major motion picture, directed by Ridley Scott, from a screenplay written by David Scarpa and starring Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer and Mark Wahlberg.

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 colourful characters, bitter feuds and unexpected turns, it is a riveting insight into the lives of the super-rich.

All The Money In The World:  The Outrageous Fortune and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J Paul Getty (2017) was previously published as Painfully Rich (1995).

About the author:  John Pearson is the bestselling author of several novels and biographies including The Profession of Violence (Edgar Allan Poe Special Award from the Mystery Writers of America, and released as the major motion picture Legend) and the only authorised biography of Ian Fleming, as well as Gone to Timbuctoo (Author's Club Award for best first novel of the year), The Life of James Bond, The Kindness of Dr Avicenna, Stags and Serpents:  The History of the Dukes of Devonshire and The Selling of the Royal Family (a collective biography of the British royal family).  He lives in Sussex.