Playboys are named that for a reason. They are boys and they do like to play. There seems to be a little debate on what Lapo Elkann likes to play with.
Lapo Elkann called his family from New York to demand a $10,000 (£8,000) ransom "to guarantee his safety", a US official told the Associated Press.
But having found him in Manhattan, investigators now believe he concocted the story after he ran out of money following a drink and drugs binge.
The grandson of Fiat's Gianni Agnelli is now due in court in January.
Mr Elkann, who was arrested on a misdemeanour charge of falsely reporting an incident, had only arrived in the US last week.
The Italian had told his Instagram followers he was going abroad to pursue "a lot of projects in development… a lot of new ideas" in a rambling video posted on Thursday.
Mr Elkann, dressed in a bright red suit, also said the business trip would bring him into contact with "many very interesting characters".
Instead, media reports in the US and Italy say the 39-year-old spent two days with the woman, before calling his family in order to get more money. – bbc.com
There are mixed reports as to the gender of the person Elkann was found with. The BBC above says it was a woman while NewNowNext says it was a male.
In 2005, he was found with a transgender prostitute in Turin, Italy, nearly dead from an OD on heroin and cocaine.
This time, he was allegedly holed up with a male escort in New York public housing, binging on alcohol and cocaine. When the money ran out, he reportedly called relatives and told them a woman was holding him hostage. He insisted he “would be hurt” if they didn’t pay a $10,000 ransom.
Elkan, whose net worth is reportedly near $5 billion, is a designer and founder of Garage Italia Customs, which customizes luxury cars and private airplanes for high-end clientele. – newnownext.com
Asking fot $10k when you are worth $5 billion? Why is he worth so much? NewNowNext as well as other gay sites were giving Elkann the title of Fiat Heir, but that doesn't seem to be the case according to BBC.com.
Lapo Elkann is the great-great-grandson of Giovanni Agnelli, who funded Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, or Fiat, in Turin, Italy, in 1899.
His mother is Countess Margherita Agnelli de Pahlen, daughter of the late Gianni Agnelli, said to have been the richest Italian businessman in recent history.
The Agnelli family not only own Fiat, but also Turin newspaper La Stampa and football club Juventus.
But despite being part of the shareholding family, Mr Elkann – whose father Alain is an American-born author – is not involved in the family business. Instead, his brother John Elkann was chosen as heir to his grandfather on Mr Agnelli's death in 2003. – bbc.com
No matter who he gets the money from or if he is the heir to the Fiat throne, somebody has a good amount of money as well as needle and nose candy problems. That's never a good mix.
Get well Lapo. It might be time to realize there's a problem. But you do look good in primary colors!
h/t: bbc.com, newnownext.com