9. George Weyerhaeuser
In 1935, this 9-year old, heir to the J. P. Weyerhaeuser logging fortune in Tacoma, Washington, was taken off the streets in broad daylight and held for $200,000 ransom by Harmon Metz Waley and his wife Margaret. The boy was unharmed, most of the money was recovered and all of the participants in the crime served time. George was released on a deserted farm lane. He walked to a nearby farmhouse, identified himself and was reunited with his family. His kidnappers were arrested after passing marked ransom money. George attended Yale and eventually took over control of the family lumber business until his retirement in 1999.
