Who is John du Pont on Which “Foxcatcher” is Based?
John du Pont was known as a wealthy eccentric who was the heir to the du Pont family fortune. (The du Ponts founded one of the most successful companies in American history, a chemical company still known as DuPont.) Du Pont hired Olympic wrestling stars Mark and Dave Schultz (both brothers) to run a wrestling training camp set up on du Pont’s Philadelphia estate Foxcatcher Farm. Du Pont later shot and killed Dave purportedly as a result of du Pont’s untreated mental illness.
In the months leading up to Dave’s murder, du Pont had reportedly exhibited increasingly odd behavior such as declaring himself the red-robed “Dalai Lama of the United States” and demanding that all of the treadmills be removed from the training facilities because they were time machines. Du Pont was sentenced to prison where he eventually died at the age of 72.