John Eleuthère du Pont, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Delaware Museum of Natural History (d. 2010)
John Eleuthère du Pont (November 22, 1938 – December 9, 2010) was an American convicted murderer and philanthropist. An heir to the Du Pont family fortune, he was a published ornithologist, philatelist, conchologist, and sports enthusiast. He died in prison while serving a sentence of 30 years for the murder of Dave Schultz.
In 1972, du Pont founded and directed the Delaware Museum of Natural History and contributed to Villanova University and other institutions. In the 1980s, he established a wrestling facility at his Foxcatcher Farm after becoming interested in the sport and the pentathlon events. He became a prominent supporter of amateur sports in the United States and a sponsor of USA Wrestling.
In the 1990s, friends and acquaintances were concerned about his erratic and paranoid behavior, but his wealth shielded him. On February 25, 1997, he was convicted of murder in the third degree for the January 26, 1996, shooting of Dave Schultz, an Olympic champion freestyle wrestler living and working on du Pont's estate. He was ruled to have been mentally ill but not insane and was sentenced to prison for 13 to 30 years. He died in prison at age 72 on December 9, 2010. To date, he is the only member of the Forbes 400 richest Americans to be convicted of murder.