The Last Baron Audiobook Libro.fm

Description

A riveting ontheedgeofyourseat tale about the notorious 1978 kidnapping of BarondouardJeanWado Empain intertwined with the story of his famous grandfather the first baron and builder of the Paris Mtro A multigenerational saga told against the backdrops of both Belle poque and 1970s highfashion Paris

What does it take to create a dynasty What does it take to keep one going And what does it take to save the life of the dazzling but flawed man who inherited it all Launched in the 1880s by the first baron the Empain industrial empire spread from Belgium and France to span more than a dozen countries When Wado took over he further expanded the company became a key player in Frances nuclear sector and by the mid1970s was one of the countrys most powerful business leadersa selfdescribed master of the universe But these were also the years of lead marked by a rash of highprofile kidnappings around the globe including the headlinegrabbing seizure of American heiress Patty Hearst

Wados vertiginous rise caught the eye of Alain Cailloll a smalltime gangster who had grown up in a wealthy family before embracing a life of crime On January 23 1978 Caillol and his confederates snatched the baron off the Paris streets sure that theyd get the 80 million francs they demanded in ransom To show they meant business they chopped off Wados little finger and warned that more body parts would follow

But nothing unfolded as the kidnappers or Wado himself expected Would Empains company pay Could his family afford this astronomical sum How much was the life of a leader a father and a husband worth Most important could a determined police chief and his crack investigators outsmart the kidnappers The answers to those questions unspooled over two months in a tangle of events leading to a bloody showdown whose consequences would prove fatal to the Empain dynasty