The quip “More money, more problems” is presumably as old as money is. Though money per comedian Eddie Murphy can afford those who have it the fancy car to drive around in search of happiness, it also brings challenges.
In the 1970s kidnapping of the well-to-do seemingly became a thing. There was a Getty heir held hostage who lost an ear in the whole ordeal, and then very famously Patty Hearst was taken. One senses to this day that the high-profile kidnappings of the ‘70s revealed yet another problem for the seriously rich: avoiding becoming a target for the ransom seeking.
On January 23, 1978, Baron Edouard-Jean “Wado” Empain was taken hostage in Paris by a group of sophisticated criminals in search of what at least some imagined would be their final heist. Surely if they could kidnap the dashing and wildly successful Empain, the ransom that would come their way would set them up for life. Or would it?
What happened in January of 1978 and beyond is the story told by Tom Sancton in his 2022 book, The Last Baron: The Paris Kidnapping That Brought Down An Empire. On its face the story and well put together book give the impression of page-turner extraordinaire. Which leads to another popular maxim: don’t judge a book by its cover. The cover of The Last Baron is magnetically good such that the book demands to be read, only for the story inside to come off as a bit dull, and worse, very contradictory.
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