J. Paul Getty III, the troubled grandson of a U.S. multibillionaire oil magnate, and who once lost an ear in a grisly kidnapping, has died at age 54.

His son, actor Balthazar Getty, confirmed Tuesday that his father died Saturday surrounded by his family at his English mansion in Buckinghamshire, northwest of London. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Getty's life captured the turmoil of his times. Born in November 1956 to vast oil wealth in the billions of dollars, his life was upended when he was kidnapped at age 16 in Rome.

To press their demands for ransom, his captors cut off part of his ear and mailed it to the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. The mutilation reportedly helped sway Getty's family, who had been reluctant to pay. Still, the teenager spent five months in captivity before being freed in 1973 for a ransom of $2.7 million.

As a young man, Getty embraced a life of parties, acquiring drug and alcohol habits that would seriously affect his health down the road.

He suffered a stroke while undergoing treatment for alcohol abuse in 1981. The stroke left him paralyzed, unable to speak, in a wheelchair and in need of around-the-clock care. Newspaper reports indicated the stroke was drug-related, but details were not released.

The father of two and grandfather of six "never let his handicap keep him from living life to the fullest and he was an inspiration to all of us, showing us how to stand up to all adversity," Balthazar Getty said in a statement issued by his publicist. "We will miss him terribly."

J. Paul III was rarely seen in the public eye after the stroke, drifting from public consciousness even as his family name became associated with philanthropy and the arts.

The Getty family history is riddled with drug-related woes: J. Paul III's father struggled with a well-publicized drug addiction, and his stepmother died from a drug overdose.

The troubled family rose to global prominence with the phenomenal success of his grandfather, the late J. Paul Getty, who built Getty Oil into a $6-billion fortune — making him the world's richest man in his day. The oilman was known for his tightfisted approach, reportedly installing a pay telephone in one of his residences so that family and friends would not be able to place long-distance calls at his expense.

He also built one of the world's great art collections, which formed the basis of the J. Paul Getty Museum, a cultural centrepiece in the Los Angeles area.

J. Paul III is survived by his two children, Balthazar and stepdaughter Anna, and six grandchildren. He is also survived by his mother, Gail Harris, and four siblings: Getty Images co-founder Mark Getty, prominent AIDS activist Aileen Getty, Ariadne Getty and his half-brother Tara Getty.

Balthazar Getty has starred in film and TV productions and is currently appearing on the ABC network drama Brothers & Sisters.