

He renamed the estate Foxcatcher Farm after his mother died in 1988, and devoted his attention to his stable of athletes. Undaunted, du Pont built a world-class athletic facility and formed the Foxcatcher National Training Center on his Newtown Square estate for the country's top wrestling talent. Amid charges of sexual abuse and other indiscretions against the wealthy benefactor, the program was dropped two years later. In 1986, he provided the funds for Villanova University to found a wrestling program and build an athletic arena, with the stipulation he get the chance to serve as head coach. Foxcatcher Farmĭu Pont eventually developed a strong interest in wrestling. He also wrote four books about birds during this time period. In 1972, du Pont founded the Delaware Museum of Natural History and installed himself as the director.

He competed in several events with the goal of making the 1968 U.S. He also indulged his athletic desires, training with the Olympic-caliber athletes of California's Santa Clara Swim Club.Īfter graduating from the University of Miami with a degree in marine biology in 1965, du Pont decided to try his hand at the modern pentathlon. Interestsĭu Pont began exploring his wide array of interests in the following years, embarking on nature expeditions to the Philippines, Samoa, the Fiji Islands and other exotic locales. However, his parents divorced when he was a young boy, and outside of school he mainly interacted with his mom and Liseter Hall's servants.ĭu Pont graduated from the Haverford School in 1957 and enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, but left before the end of his freshman year.

family fortune, du Pont enjoyed a childhood of immense wealth and privilege on the 800-acre Liseter Hall Farm estate in Newtown Square. John Eleuthère du Pont was born on November 22, 1938, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to William Jr. The story is presented in the 2014 film Foxcatcher. After murdering wrestler Dave Schultz at the facility in January 1996, du Pont was imprisoned until his death on December 9, 2010. He pursued his interests in science and athletics as a young man, eventually founding a training center for the country's top amateur wrestling talent on his estate. heir John du Pont grew up on a massive estate near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
