John Eleuthère du Pont was born on the 22nd November 1938, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA, and died on the 9th December 2010 in the state prison at Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania. He was a philanthropist, philatelist, ornithologist, sports enthusiast and the heir to the fortune that belonged to the du Pont family. He was known to be a great supporter of wrestling and amateur sports in USA. From 1997, he was imprisoned after being convicted of murder in the third degree.
How much was the net worth of John Eleuthere du Pont at the time of his death? Reportedly, his wealth was as much as $200 million. According to his will, 80% of his estate was transferred to the wrestler Valentin Yordanov, who was trained by du Pont, and his relatives. The will was highly disputed by the relatives of du Pont.
John Du Pont Net Worth $200 Million
John was the youngest of four children raised by their parents William Du Pont Jr. and Jean Liseter Austin. He grew up at Liseter Hall, located in Philadelphia, a mansion built in 1922 in Newtown Square, by his paternal grandfather, and inherited his parents on the occasion of their marriage. His parents divorced in 1941, when he was only two years. In addition to his three siblings, John du Pont has a half brother, William Bridge III, born of the second marriage of his father. Du Pont graduated from Haverford College in 1957. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania where he belonged to the fraternity Zeta Psi. However, he dropped out of the university before finishing his first year. Du Pont later attended the University of Miami in Florida, and graduated in 1965 with a Bachelors degree in Science in Zoology. Bridge completed his training with a doctorate in natural sciences at Villanova University in 1973.
John du Pont published three books – “Philippine Birds” (1971), South Pacific Birds (1976) and “Living Volutes: a Monograph of the Recent Volutidae of the World”. Later, he established and directed the Museum of Natural History of Delaware, which was opened in 1972. du Pont was also an ornithologist conchologist, philatelist and avid sports fan. In the 1980s, he created a wrestling team at his farm named Foxcatcher Farm. In 1997, he was convicted of the murder of Dave Schultz, a wrestler and former Olympic champion, but also found mentally ill. Du Pont subsequently died in prison from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the age of 72. According to the facts of his life, the biographical sports and true crime drama film was released in 2014 under the title of “Foxcatcher” directed by Bennett Miller. The lead role of John du Pont was created by the actor Steve Carell, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Finally, in the personal life of John du Pont, being 45 years old he married a 29 year-old occupational therapist Gale Wenk in 1983, however, they apparently lived together for less than half a year as the marriage was annulled. He had no children.
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