Cover family: heirs of famous dynasties in American Forbes. Secrets of history

Northern Delaware is called the DuPont country: the road leading to the city of Wilmington is named DuPont Highway, and in Wilmington itself they own absolutely everything - from factories and banks to a computer corporation.

The towns surrounding Wilmington seem like a piece of France - road signs flash every now and then: Nemours, Cheanne. Bore de Fosse, Monchanet and Granois. On the streets of each of them, until recently, French speech prevailed - for a hundred years in a row, the Du Ponts hired mainly French people.

For outsiders, DuPont de Nemours is a giant transnational company: the size of its assets is $211 billion, branches in Europe and Latin America, a global monopoly on nylon, Orlon, Dacron and Teflon, dozens of chemical plants, production of aircraft and weapons. By the middle of the twentieth century, there were already about one and a half thousand Du Ponts; five hundred people were considered multimillionaires, two hundred and fifty were part of the family’s inner circle, eight decided its fate.

Andre Dupont with his wife
20s

Delaware was accustomed to the Du Ponts: Edward Du Pont, first vice president of the Wilmington Trust Company, the center of the clan's financial power, until recently sat with his managers in the city club and was one of the best parishioners of the city church.

The Du Ponts' famous hunts and balls go back a long way - after the First World War, which brought them hundreds of millions, they hunted foxes on blood stallions, surrounded by hunters and packs of hounds, wearing eighteenth-century doublets, cocked hats and powdered wigs. On family holidays they danced in the costumes of marquises and marquises from the time of Louis XV and went home in gilded carriages - their estates, built in the manner of feudal castles and Versailles palaces, still surround Wilmington.

For about two hundred years, the Du Ponts have personified a special aristocratic style - inconspicuous wealth and effective power; about them family secrets, adultery, suicide, sudden and tragic deaths, legends are still told about the madness that haunts this type of city in the city. In the front room of the Wilmington Trust Company, darkened family portraits hang: the gallery is opened by a fair-haired lady and a stately, broad-faced gentleman in a powdered wig.

The official family tree of the Du Ponts describes the meeting of the founders of the dynasty in idyllic tones: a fragile blond girl sat in her attic on the rue Richelieu, drawing miniatures and looking out the window opposite. There, a strong young man, Pierre Samuel Dupont, her watchmaker neighbor, took beautiful poses, practicing the noble art of fencing: a feint was followed by a stop, a sword pierced a target painted on the wall...

One of the family portraits
early 19th century

Anna Alexandrina had big blue eyes, soft skin and a highly developed imagination: she dreamed of great love and saw in her neighbor ( large nose, proud to stand and shoulders wide) the embodiment of all perfections.

Anna Alexandrina, left an orphan at the age of 8, lived at the mercy of rich relatives until she was sixteen - her uncle and aunt had their own daughter growing up, and the girls became friends. When they turned into young ladies, the pupil was offered the position of housekeeper on a distant estate - otherwise she could go to all four directions.

She chose the latter: now, having settled on the street of watchmakers, the homeless woman made her living by painting dials.

A few months later, Samuel and Anna Alexandrina got married: the gentleman watchmaker was a Protestant and, having learned that his pretty neighbor shared his faith, decided to walk her down the aisle. She moved her belongings across the Rue Richelieu and settled in the very room where she had once seen her husband for the first time. Anna Alexandrina is only sixteen. In a few years she will be severely disappointed in her marriage.

One of the main life principles of Mr. Dupont was deep ignorance: his ancestors professed Protestantism (and were considered dissidents in Catholic France), many of his Huguenot friends were in prison, which is why Samuel preferred to keep a low profile. He had his own method of self-preservation: Mr. Dupont could neither read nor write - therefore, royal officials could not accuse him of studying forbidden books. He didn’t know a single letter or a single number, and on top of that, he was as stubborn as a donkey and narcissistic as a peacock.

The educated and well-mannered Anna Alexandrina had a hard time with him. Their son Pierre grew up an extraordinary child. He resembled his father only with his huge nose, like an eagle’s beak ( a big nose still remains a hereditary feature of the Du Ponts - like the heavy jaw of the Habsburgs or the protruding lip of the Bourbons). Since childhood, Pierre was lame, weak and unhealthy, but he was distinguished by a brilliant memory and quick mind: at the age of twelve he knew French grammar by heart and translated fluently from Latin.

Pierre turned out to be a kind boy: when the red-haired, freckled and stupid cousin Marianne fell ill with smallpox, his brother sat at her bedside for days and as a result became infected. A few days later, doctors, unable to find a pulse, pronounced him dead. The whole night before the funeral, grief-stricken Anna sat at her son’s coffin, praying for the repose of his soul. By morning, the mother dozed off, when suddenly she was awakened by Pierre's scream: the boy survived, although his face was hopelessly disfigured.

His cheeks and forehead were covered with smallpox marks, one eye was struck by farsightedness, the other by myopia: over the years, Pierre Dupont decided that in this way fate marks its chosen ones. “I am grateful to nature and chance,” he wrote in his memoirs, “for giving me the opportunity to have the entire range of vision.” The mother cried, the father forced his son to take up fencing - Samuel Dupont considered the sword a universal remedy that strengthens the body and spirit. In the evenings they practiced lunges, and spent their days at work: the father decided to make his son a watchmaker.

Several years passed like this, and then Anna Alexandrina died in childbirth. Before her death, joining the hands of her husband and son, she said: “Try to live happily.”

They failed to do this - after the death of his mother, Pierre lost his way. He made acquaintances with aspiring writers and young actors, drank with them, disappeared behind the scenes and visited brothels. In addition, the young man fell into writing poetry and became addicted to empty thoughts: he locked himself in the attic and meditated for hours, staring at the ceiling beam. One day, having caught Pierre doing this, his father beat him like a dog and then threw him out of the house.

A lame, disfigured by smallpox, half-blind young man found himself on the streets of Paris penniless - this is how it began brilliant career Pierre Samuel du Pont, publicist and businessman, friend American President and close associate of the French king.

Friends did not let the poor fellow die of hunger - a familiar watchmaker took him to work. A few years later, Pierre came to his father’s workshop, holding in his hands a magnificent watch in a carved oak case, with a hammered silver dial. It was engraved with the inscription: “Designed and made by the son of Dupont, dedicated to his father.”

Pierre bowed silently, handed Samuel a gift and left his home - this time forever. So he paid his filial duty and got rid of the feeling of guilt forever. And the fact that the priest could not read the dedication and did not understand its meaning even when a literate neighbor came to his aid - Pierre did not care in the slightest.

Many years have passed since then, but Samuel Dupont never saw his son again. Pierre didn't even come to his funeral - now he lived a different life. Pierre Dupont became a friend and adviser to the Prime Minister of France, Baron Turgot, edited an influential magazine, successfully speculated on the stock exchange and attended receptions with the king.

It all started with what Pierre Dupont wrote economic essay, which accidentally caught the eye of Baron Turgot. The dignitary was struck by the style and perfection of the argumentation, and he took the young talent under his wing. Soon Pierre was offered an excellent position with a large salary.

His career was secured, and now he could think about his family. When he was poor and persecuted, he was sheltered by his mother's relatives, gentlemen Dor. Charlotte Marie Louise Le Dais, who was also a distant relative of Pierre, lived on their estate. She was a slightly overripe girl (at that time she was already eighteen), and her closest neighbor, a fifty-five-year-old tax collector, a widower who had driven two wives to the grave, was considered a good match by Maria Louise’s patrons. Pierre was always distinguished by knightly inclinations, and Marie was smart and pretty, and he rushed to her aid, promising to marry. The young man asked to give him two years - during this time he promised to put his affairs in order.

Young Dupont kept his promise, although by that time it had already become clear that there was no trace of love. However, this did not stop Marie Le Dais from giving him two sons - one of them, following an already established family tradition, rebelled against his father...

Portraits of both of Pierre Dupont's sons hang in the front room of the Wilmington Trust Company. Tall, dark-haired, handsome Victor did not want to study and failed any task: he was like two peas in a pod like his grandfather, Samuel Dupont. The younger, Eleter Irene, inherited his father’s traits and talent: short stature, firm mouth, pronounced abilities for science and serious attitude to life. Pierre sent him to study with his friend, the famous chemist Lavoisier, who headed the gunpowder mines of the French kingdom. A few years later, Elether Irené knew absolutely everything about gunpowder: it was he who laid the foundation of the Du Pont empire.

But the revolution swept away their old life - in 1799 the Duponts fled from France, because they were among those who tried to protect the king. The father and sons, together with the courtiers loyal to Louis XVI, shot back from the sans-culottes in the Tuileries Palace, then, miraculously escaping the guillotine, lay low - and still could not settle into their new life.

The American Eagle, which left Toulon, was loaded with their furniture, pianos and silverware. The entire three-month journey across the Atlantic, the Du Ponts guarded their goods with drawn swords in their hands - the team did not inspire confidence in them.

The American Eagle docked in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, and the Du Ponts went ashore and headed to the nearest house. Pierre knocked, but they did not open the door for him; he looked out the window and saw the table set. The bells were ringing, a Christmas service was going on in the church, turkey and apple pie were waiting for the owners of the house, which they never tried: the Du Ponts broke into the house and, in the name of freedom, equality and fraternity, ate everything that was on the table.

The frosty morning of January 1, 1800 dawned - a new century began, and in America it became the century of the Du Ponts. They brought with them two hundred thousand francs in cash - before leaving France, Pierre Dupont established Joint-Stock Company"Pontiana" and issued shares. But America was swarming with its own speculators, who had long inflated prices for undeveloped lands. Then Pierre Dupont began smuggling Spanish gold, which he also did not succeed in.

He never got rich, but he made a contribution to history - Du Pont Sr., while still in France, met the future US President Thomas Jefferson, and he entrusted him with mediation in negotiations between France and the United States. Thanks to Dupont, Napoleon sold Louisiana to America, and its territory doubled. The United States saved a lot of money on this deal, but Pierre Dupont himself did not make a cent from it.

Victor forced him out of business and, becoming the head of the company, finally destroyed Pontiania. Pierre fell into melancholy and died a few years later. Victor briefly outlived his father, dying on a New York street from a heart attack.

Now the family was headed by Eleuthere Irenee du Pont. During his reign, the Duponts turned into a closed clan, shrouded in legends, living by its own laws.

Irene had three sons and twenty-four grandchildren. They were fond of chemistry, tried their hand at business, and the family business, according to tradition, went to the most gifted and resourceful.

The Du Ponts no longer made land - they now made money from death...

Quiet, reserved Elether did not at all resemble a businessman. He was what he appeared to be: a scientist to the core, a man obsessed with chemical formulas.

In addition to his academic merits, the new head of the clan was observant and had a sense of the situation. America turned out to be a country of armed men, and Eleter Irene knew how to make the best gunpowder in the world.

And soon, in the town of Brandywine, the millstones of gunpowder mills began to spin, and the passion for theory explosives The Du Ponts have now become hereditary. True, they changed their name: in democratic America, the plebeians Du Ponts turned into French aristocrats du Pont de Nemours.

The children of the Parisian watchmaker began to call themselves marquises, Nemours, the village where Pierre Dupont met Marie Le Dais, turned into their family estate.

The people of Brandywine did not learn about what was happening in the world from newspapers. The DuPont gunpowder factories were located here, and if there was a war somewhere, the mines worked in two shifts. However, neighboring towns quickly learned about this - in a hurry, workers forgot about safety rules, and explosions were heard tens of kilometers away, and a column of fire sometimes threw people across the river, onto the streets of a neighboring village.

The Du Ponts fed the entire area, and were treated with almost religious reverence - they were lucky, rich and made ever more advanced gunpowder. But no one felt love for them: too many Brandywine men died in their mines.

The stories that circulated about them in the city were more like scary tales what they tell children on Halloween. The old people said that the Dupont clan has a special fate: they live differently, but die the same.

It is no coincidence that Eleter Irene, who outlived his brother by seven years, clutched his heart on the same New York street as Victor, and was taken to the same room of the same hotel to die.

It was said that they always had to pay for their sins: under Alfred I. du Pont, son of Irené, who took over the company in 1837 (according to the portrait, he had a large nose, fleshy cheeks and a sharp, piercing gaze), powder mines worked around the clock. Accidents followed one after another - as a result, he suffered such a strong nervous shock that he was forced to retire.

They also remembered the shadow of the unfortunate Cowan, a former worker in the DuPont mines. Some of the old people swore that they themselves saw him wandering around the house of Henry Dupont, younger brother and Alfred's successor: in one hand the ghost held the Bible, in the other - that same rope...

In 1852, two gunpowder mines exploded and Henry blamed Cowan. The poor fellow swore on the Bible that it was not his fault, but Dupont kicked him out the door, and that same night Cowan hanged himself. The old men talked about retribution: a few years later, Alexis Dupont died in a mine explosion. When his brother's eyes were closed, Henry Dupont turned gray.

During the war between the North and South, the mines exploded 11 times: 43 people were killed, hundreds of people were maimed. The Du Ponts also had to pay for this: fate took its revenge on poor Charlotte Shepard Henderson Du Pont, one of the most beautiful women of its time.

She came from an old Southern family. The brothers fought on the side of the Confederates, and her husband's family armed Lincoln's army, and poor Charlotte found herself between two fires: those who were dear to her became enemies. The house was commanded by the mother-in-law, a strong-willed and powerful lady.

It's over nervous breakdown, from which Charlotte never recovered and died a few years later in a mental asylum. Her husband Irene Dupont II blamed his mother for what happened and did not say another word to her until his death.

Some in Wilmington still believe that the Du Ponts have a special gift: they make both themselves and their loved ones unhappy. However, most do not believe this: the times when the Du Ponts traded in death are a thing of the past. Now they have a completely “vegetarian” business: nylon, Orlon, Teflon, tights, windbreakers, non-burning frying pans, mineral fertilizers, medicines - in total more than twenty thousand types of various goods.

Wallace Karoteros

But Wilmington gossips will remember the fate of Wallace Hume Carothers. The inventor of nylon, which brought the Du Ponts 4.5 billion dollars a year, which made women's waists thin and their stomachs flat, died in madness and obscurity. He struggled with the nylon formula for almost ten years - from 1928 to 1937, discovered it and ended up in a psychiatric clinic.

And after leaving the hospital and celebrating his forty-first birthday, he locked himself in a hotel room and took potassium cyanide. Carrothers' wife was two months pregnant, but that didn't stop him.

Another reason to gossip about the Du Ponts appeared in 1995, when John du Pont, an elderly gentleman who had been involved in biology all his life, in a fit of sudden madness, shot a friend, Olympic champion on the wrestling of George Schultz, who stopped by to drink a glass of whiskey. The lawyers worked well, and John Dupont was declared insane.

This was a great success: in the worst case, he faced life imprisonment, for murder without aggravating circumstances they could get from twenty-eight to forty years, and he got off with five years in a psychiatric hospital.

Those who had seen John before did not recognize him in the courtroom: a tangled beard, long, dirty hair that had turned gray in one week... When the jury returned their verdict, the killer's father said that the term for which he was sentenced was of great importance does not have: in a prison uniform or without it, but John Dupont will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Exactly one year later he will be released from psychiatric clinic, and he will settle away from people, on the Du Pont estate located in Philadelphia. Where one of John's relatives, the insane Charlotte Shepard Henderson Dupont, lived out her life.

But the Du Ponts themselves are not inclined to believe the ominous legends about a family curse haunting their family. The governor of the state of Delaware for a long time was the current head of the DuPont family, Pierre Samuel IV, a courteous and well-mannered gentleman, a former candidate for US president.

Every year the large genus increases by about thirty strong, red-cheeked, big-nosed babies. The DuPont empire is expanding, scientists working for him are inventing new high-tech toys that make human life easier. And one and a half thousand shareholders who had the good fortune to be born under the name Dupont live in peace and contentment.

From Republicans to US President, but also a father of many children. His relationship with his children can easily be called a partnership.

Trump's eldest daughter Ivanka is the executive vice president of her father's company and is responsible for expanding the real estate part of his empire. She took part in the TV show “The Candidate,” runs her own jewelry company, and wrote a book. Represents the Girl Up Foundation, which recruits American girls to participate in UN programs in third world countries. She graduated with honors from Wharton Business School. Since 2009, she has been married to the heir to the real estate empire, Jared Kushner, and they have three children.

Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., works with Ivanka in his father's company as executive vice president. True, his name appears in the media more often in connection with the birth of another child (38-year-old Trump Jr. became a father for the fifth time last year) than in connection with concluding a successful deal.

Trump's second son, Eric, also works in his father's company. But his youngest daughter Tiffany did not want to participate in the family business, preferring a career as an actress, although not very successful so far. Youngest son Trump Barron is still only 10 years old, but he is already a frequent guest at social parties in Manhattan, where he goes with his mother.

In the photo: cover of the special issue of Forbes “400” richest people America" ​​2006. On the cover—Donald Trump with his daughter Ivanka and son Donald Trump Jr.

Ronald and Raymond Perelman

Raymond Perelman is the founder of the metal processing company Belmont Industries. He tried to involve his son Ronald in the family business from the age of 11 - the boy was obliged to attend meetings of the board of directors and make his proposals. However, Ronald was not at all interested in metallurgy, but he passionately loved music. Eventually, Raymond backed down and put another son, Jeffrey, in charge of his company. But Ronald did not become a successful rock musician, and he could no longer return to the company. In the end, he decided to open his own business - taking out $1.9 million in loans, he bought a chain of jewelry stores in New York. Soon Perelman sold them for $15 million, earning more than $10 million from the operation after repaying the loan he had taken at high interest rates. Perelman liked this way of doing business and began buying up one undervalued company after another and soon became famous as a “corporate grabber.” In 2016, Forbes estimated the fortune of 73-year-old Perelman at $12.1 billion.

Photo: cover of the 2011 Forbes special issue “America's 400 Richest People.” On the cover—Ronald and Raymond Perelman.

Mallon family

Judge Thomas Mallon (died 1908) immigrated from Ireland in 1818 and made a fortune in real estate, lending, and farming. His son Andrew Mallon (died 1937) was US Secretary of the Treasury, as well as a successful banker and investor, particularly in companies such as Alcoa and Gulf Oil. His heirs were unable to surpass their successful ancestor, but they kept the business afloat. Andrew's grandson Timothy is the owner of New England. His great-nephew Richard Scaife (died 2014) ran a media company in Western Pennsylvania that publishes the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He donated most of his fortune to charity. Now the family is represented by Matthew Mallon, a venture investor. In the ranking Forbes richest families in 2015, the Mallons took 21st place, the magazine estimated their fortune at $11.5 billion.

Photo: cover of Forbes' July 2014 issue of America's Richest Families. On the cover—Matthew Mallon with his wife and children.

Erme Dynasty

Axel Dumas is the director of the Hermès house and a representative of the sixth generation of the Hermès dynasty. Hermès has managed to become the most influential company in the luxury market; over the past five years, the company's shares have grown by 175%. According to Forbes, at least five of the clan members in the Hermès management structure are on the list of billionaires. Sum general condition The Dumas family's wealth exceeds $25 billion, which is more than the Rockefellers, Mallons and Fords combined.

In 1837, saddler Thierry Hermé founded his own workshop in Paris. The elite of that time needed reliable horse harness for trips and travels. And the quality and beauty of Erme’s bridles and harnesses turned out to be unsurpassed. Thierry had The only son, Charles-Émile, who moved the company to 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré, where it remains to this day. Charles-Émile in turn had two sons, Adolphe and Émile-Maurice, who renamed the company Hermès Frères (Herme Brothers). However, at a certain point, Adolf decided that the company's prospects in the era of cars, not horses, were not very bright, and left the company to Emil. Emil had four daughters (one of whom died in 1920) - which explains why among those who are now involved in managing this family business, there is no one named Erme. The company is now run by descendants in the fifth and sixth generations.

Under Axel Dumas's uncle, Jean-Louis Dumas, who was CEO from 1978 to 2006, much of the company's family management structure was transformed into a "matryoshka" of six holding companies. On top of it all was an intricate two-level control structure designed by Jean-Louis. New system management helped Hermès publicly place 4% of its shares on the stock exchange in 1993, which, on the one hand, allowed representatives of the new generation to turn assets into cash, and on the other, maintain control in the hands of the family. The new budget allowed Hermès to exit its role as a leather goods manufacturer. Jean-Louis Dumas expanded his activities by launching the production of men's ready-to-wear, cutlery and furniture.

Photo: cover of Forbes' September 2014 "100 Most Innovative Companies" issue. On the cover—Axel Dumas.

Father and daughter Lauren

Ralph Lauren was born in the Bronx, into a poor family of Jewish immigrants, and throughout his childhood and youth he passionately dreamed of wealth. He wrote about this in a school essay, at the age of 12 he saved money to buy himself a three-piece suit, and his first office of his own tie company was located in the Empire State Building - it doesn’t matter that it was a ten-meter closet without windows, but what an address. Lauren started with ties, which helped him look expensive and stylish. He made a name on them, then popularized the polo shirt, suitable for any situation. But it is unlikely that he would have created an empire if his marketing sense was limited only to ties and jackets in the style of the English aristocracy. Lauren created an online store before mass market brands thought about it; in front of his store in Manhattan there is a touch screen with which you can buy any item at any time of the day. Today, Lauren ranks 74th in the ranking of the richest Americans, with a fortune of $6.2 billion.

The heir to this fortune is Dylan Lauren, no less a successful businessman than her father. In 2001, she founded Dylan's Candy Bar, a candy chain that includes several of its own stores, as well as outlets in such legendary places as the New York Yankees Stadium. The flagship store in Manhattan offers 5,000 types of candies, and in addition - clothes and personal care items.Dylan is also actively involved in the ASPCA (American Society Against Cruelty to Animals) and the Feed Foundation.

Pritzker family

The influential Pritzker business clan from Chicago spent the 2000s in endless litigation over family assets until they decided on an ownership and management structure. One of the heirs to the business empire, Penny Pritzker, today holds the post of US Secretary of Commerce. Thomas is the chairman of the board of directors of the Hyatt Hotels chain. Gigi is a famous film producer. John is the owner of the boutique hotel chain Commune Hotels. Brothers Anthony and Jaybee run the family investment firm Pritzker Group. Karen and her husband Michael are renowned investors. Liesel Pritzker Simmons (pictured), who sued her father and other relatives over the division of assets in 2003, is also involved in investments (one of her exotic projects in Ghana is the processing of human waste into combustible fuel). 11 representatives of the dynasty are participants in the Forbes list of billionaires. The family owes its fortune to Anthony Pritzker (died 1986), who founded Hyatt with his sons and was heavily invested in various assets, including the industrial conglomerate Marmon Group, now owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

Pictured: cover of Forbes issue, November 2003. LIzel Pritzker Simmons.

Bechtel family

Bechtel is a private company with a 100-year history. Warren Bechtel, the founder of the company, died in Moscow in 1933 after traveling through Siberia, bequeathing to his descendants the enormous wealth of our country. Today Bechtel is the 4th largest private construction company in USA. Despite the influence, or rather even because of it, the family of the company's founder is under constant attack. Thus, she was criticized for her financial ties to the Bin Laden family, due to contracts for the reconstruction of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. In addition, during the presidency of George W. Bush, Bechtel was accused of mutual corrupt appointments to official positions.

Nevertheless, Stephen Bechtel Jr. is included in the Forbes list of the richest Americans with a fortune of $2.9 billion, as well as in the ranking of philanthropists.

Pictured: the cover of the December 7, 1981 issue of Forbes. On the cover—Stephen Bechtel Jr.

Du Pont family

The history of the Du Pont family began in 1802, when Eleuther Irène Du Pont founded a gunpowder factory that turned into an entire chemical empire. Eleuther's father Pierre Samuel de Pont de Nemours, a French nobleman who was part of the retinue of King Louis XVI, fled the revolution in the United States in 1800. It was he who brought the gunpowder formula developed by his teacher Antoine Lavoisier. But the Du Ponts made their fortune during the First World War, through military contracts.

The heiress of the Du Pont chemical empire, Marianne Silliman and Elinor Rust, appeared on Forbes lists until 1994. But when analysts began to count their wealth, it turned out that they had been dead for several years.

Another one is associated with the Du Pont heirs deadly story. John E. DuPont, whose 1986 net worth was estimated at $200 million, was sentenced in 1997 to 30 years for the murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz. The heir was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and died in prison in 2010. Dedicated to the story of the murder hollywood movie Foxcatcher, where Dupont is played by Steve Carrell.

In 2014, another DuPont heir, Robert Richards, was accused of raping his 3-year-old daughter.

Today the DuPont Corporation is run by Aurelia DuPont.

In the photo: the president of the DuPont Corporation in 1962, Crawford Greenwalt, with a portrait of the company's founder in the background.

The name Aurélie Dupont is well known both in France and abroad. For more than 20 years, this outstanding ballerina was the leading soloist of the Opera de Paris. The dancer's talent inspired director Cedric Klapisch to create documentary film“L’espace d’un instant”, dedicated to the working life of the prima. A few years ago, Aurélie visited Moscow to take part in the award ceremony and concert of the winners of the annual Benois de la Danse award. Being at the peak of fame and professional opportunities, on May 28, 2015, the 42-year-old Etoile said goodbye to the stage. They said that the artistic director of the ballet theater, Benjamin Millepied, offered her the post of chief tutor of the troupe. However, on February 4, news came that as of August 1, she would lead the ballet troupe instead of Millepied himself, who was leaving his post ahead of schedule.

Among the outgoing generation of Paris Opera stars, Aurélie Dupont undoubtedly was and remains the brightest. The dancer's career was very successful from the very beginning. Enlisted in the troupe at the age of 16, she was extremely short term rose to the highest level of the ballet hierarchy. The title of etoile was brought to her by the role of Kitri in Nuriev's edition of Don Quixote.

Perhaps the main professional advantage of Aurélie Dupont is her versatility. She can perform classics, neoclassical productions, and modern choreography equally well. The ballerina's repertoire included performances by famous choreographers of the 19th century - Marius Petipa, Jules Perrot, and great masters of the 20th century - George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Pina Bausch, Roland Petit, John Neumeier and others.
During her long career, Aurélie Dupont performed in the title roles of more than 30 ballets: from the traditional version of Swan Lake to shocking new works like Angelin Preljocaj's Siddhartra. It is interesting to compare the same heroines in different productions. For example, the classic “Giselle” and the famous “Giselle” by Mats Ek, in which the beloved Alberta is in a state of madness from the very beginning. In both cases, the choreographic and dramatic side of the dancer’s talent was at its best.

What talent is there! It was enough for her to simply appear on stage, and the audience would already freeze in admiration. Ideally regular facial features, combined with a refined figure and thick dark hair, gave birth to the image of the Madonna, reproduced by Leonardo. Aurélie categorically did not recognize the usual ballet smile. On the contrary, the concentrated, intelligent expression on her face, which made her uncharming in the eyes of some critics, became business card dancer style. Impeccable technical equipment was in harmony with the innate grace, plasticity, excellent sense of pose and aristocratic nobility of the prima. Aurélie Dupont was not one of those who did 32 fouettés to demonstrate his own virtuoso capabilities. She carefully nurtured each part, thoroughly rehearsed, and got used to it. And even on stage, inspired by the theatrical atmosphere, she never lost self-control.

Another amazing quality of a ballerina is amazing musicality. Whatever she performs - Tchaikovsky’s ballets or modern performances, where often as musical accompaniment a metallic grinding sound emerges - you can see how she listens to the music, reacting to the slightest turn in the score. This rare skill for a ballerina gave her every movement an organic quality and a special, elusive charm.

Aurélie Dupont's constant partners on the stage of the Opera de Paris were such brilliant dancers as Nicolas Le Riche, Manuel Legris and others. The prima's farewell gift to the Parisian public was the ballet Manon by Kenneth MacMillan, performed with the guest premier of La Scala, Roberto Bolle. Recently, Aurelie devoted more time to her family and raising her child, but she did not plan to break with the world of choreography. Now we can say with confidence: “Aurelie, we are not saying goodbye!”

Anastasia Popova,
IV course ITF

A dynasty of American tycoons, financiers and industrialists who own the world's largest chemical transnational concern. According to an estimated estimate made in 1974, this family controlled a huge amount of $150 billion, which placed them third, after the Morgans and Rockefellers, among the leaders of big business in the United States.

Over its 200-year history, “E. I. Dupont de Nemours" managed to become a legendary company. Among the main activities of the concern are the production of agricultural chemicals and food products, coatings and polymers, pigments, polystyrene, nylon, and electronic components. There is practically no area in chemistry that DuPont is not involved in developing. Today it is a company that produces high-tech products, focusing not on production itself, but on its research and development.

DuPont can rightfully be called a transnational corporation. Operating in 70 countries, it owns 135 factories and other production facilities. The company also owns more than 40 research centers, and its laboratories are located in 11 countries. Global territorial coverage allows the concern to remain one of the leaders in the global chemical industry for a long time.

The founder of the family of American chemical magnates, Frenchman Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, was a petty bourgeois by birth. Thanks to his intelligence, resourcefulness and charm, he managed to break into the Parisian high society, and when the revolution occurred, he was elected as a delegate to the Constituent Assembly. Welcoming the fall of the Bastille, du Pont made a rash act by joining the “Club of 1789” and thus classifying himself as a moderate. For the Jacobins, this was tantamount to helping the enemy, and in 1791 Pierre Samuel was removed from participation in political activity. A year later, the revolutionaries blacklisted his name, and having joined the ranks of the Swiss Guard, which defended the king, he was among those doomed to liquidation. In June 1794, du Pont was arrested, and if not for the counter-revolutionary coup that overthrew the Jacobin dictatorship and freed him from prison, he would not have escaped the guillotine.

In 1799, the du Pont family, which by that time numbered 13 people, left their homeland and went to America. They settled in Newport, Rhode Island, and became known as the Du Ponts. There, Dupont Sr. tried to carry out his long-standing plan to create a land and settlement company. However, this idea completely failed, since in a number of states foreigners were not allowed to own land. The future of the family looked rather gloomy, but still happiness smiled on them. One of Dupont’s sons, Enetelier Irenier, once had the happy thought that a gunpowder production plant would come in handy here. In France, he worked as a chemist for Lavoisier himself, and a visit to a local gunpowder factory convinced him of the incompetence of American industrialists and that he was quite capable of surpassing them. Irenie calculated that, having spent 30 thousand dollars on creating the plant, he could produce 160 pounds of gunpowder per year and make 10 thousand profit from it. Dupont the father gave his consent, and Irenier and his brother Victor went to France to obtain equipment and specialists.

At this time, Napoleon ruled their homeland. He allowed the Du Ponts to carry out their plans to compete with the British, who were the main suppliers of gunpowder to the United States. A family company was organized with a capital of $36,000 to provide 18 founding shares, 12 of which were retained by the Du Ponts, and the rest were owned by several American and foreign investors. The post of director with an annual salary of 1.8 thousand dollars was taken by Irenier Dupont.

The plant was built on the site of a farm in Delaware, and soon the company, with the assistance of Jefferson, whom DuPont Sr. knew, received its first government order. In 1802, the company had two branches: New York and Paris, but they a short time went bankrupt. And business at the plant in Delaware was going well: in just one year, 1804, sales increased from 15 thousand dollars to 97 thousand.

Pierre Samuel decided to keep up with his sons and in 1811 founded a weaving factory, the raw material for which was the wool of a specially bred merino sheep. The War of 1812 boosted business because it required not only gunpowder, but also fabrics for soldiers' uniforms. However, a few years after the end of the war, the factory had to be closed, and gunpowder continued to be the Du Ponts' main product. The type of gunpowder they produced provided the greatest range for a bullet or cannonball, so there was no shortage of orders. The timing of the formation of a stock of saltpeter at the plant just before the war was very successful, which allowed the manufacturers to fulfill the government order for the supply of 200 thousand pounds of gunpowder. A year later, the volume of government orders reached 500 thousand pounds. The Du Ponts began to expand the business and, by acquiring neighboring lands, doubled the production capacity of the enterprise and took a leading place among gunpowder manufacturers in America. French emigrants were already considered real Americans, and Victor was even elected to legislature State of Delaware.

In 1815, an explosion occurred at the enterprise, which killed 9 workers and caused damage of 20 thousand dollars. However, the plant continued to operate. An explosion that occurred three years later killed 40 people and caused $120,000 in damage, but this time the company successfully overcame the consequences of the accident.

After Victor's death in 1827, and then, seven years later, Irenje's, control of the firm passed to Alfred, Irenje's son. The family, located in the area around the plant, lived and worked as a closed community. She owned all the land, houses and property, providing herself with everything she needed. No one received a salary, and cash was given to everyone as needed.

For the war with Mexico in 1848, the government purchased 1 million pounds of gunpowder, which again significantly increased the company's income. Management of the company passed from Alfred to his brother Henry, who graduated from West Point and served in the army. The new owner conducted the company’s affairs in a military manner, demanding unquestioning execution of orders, for which he received the nickname “general”.

When he learned that competitors were making cheap gunpowder for miners, Henry found out its recipe, and then gathered his rivals and announced that he was ready to start a price war unless they wanted to cooperate with him. Negotiations resulted in an agreement that included price controls and other measures, and the Du Ponts continued to supply gunpowder for the Crimean and other wars. Although Henry skillfully used economic levers, he was less successful in the field of technology. If it were not for his nephew Lamothe, who insisted on using the latest technology for the production of explosives, the company would have been at the tail end of technical progress in this industry. Lamothe created pyroxylin gunpowder with greater explosive power than black gunpowder produced using traditional technology, and convinced the “general” that the product he proposed could be used for industrial purposes.

And again the war gave impetus to the Du Pont business: during Civil War they sold approximately 4 million pounds of gunpowder to the federal government. But at the same time, production for civilian purposes had to be reduced, and their competitors took advantage of the situation. In April 1872, Henry was forced to enter into negotiations again and, thanks to previously tested methods of pressuring competitors, he convinced all the major firms to unite into the Association of Powder Industries of the United States. In the Association, everything was decided by the “big three”, and in this three the Duponts dominated. All members of the trust sold gunpowder at the same price and divided the country among themselves into areas assigned to them for exclusive use.

After this, the Du Ponts acquired California Powder Works to turn it into their stronghold on the West Coast of the United States. Then the shares of the Hazard Company, one of the "Big Three" firms of the trust, were acquired. In the gunpowder concern, the Du Ponts now not only dominated, but also established their absolute control over it. The California acquisition also gave Du Pont access to the dynamite market.

Around this time, the Du Pont family began an intense struggle with the Rockefellers, who controlled almost the entire market for nitric acid and other materials used in gasoline cracking and dynamite production. The leaders of Standard Oil decided that they could include the production of explosives in the scope of their possessions. The Du Ponts did not agree with this, and when the Rockefellers began building several dynamite plants in New Jersey, a real war broke out between the industrialists. Independent chemical firms sided with the DuPonts, but the battle ended only when Standard Oil found itself bound by government antitrust prosecutions and lost interest in expanding production.

The old “general” died in 1889, and his nephew Eugene, who served as a chemical engineer in the company, took over the business. However, his cousin, Alfred I. DuPont, demanded more rights to run the company, although the rest of the family was against it. Alfred “became famous” for failing to find out the French secrets of producing smokeless gunpowder, and the family had to pay $81.6 thousand for Hudson Maxim’s patent in 1897. But it turned out to be possible to resolve the dispute only after the decision to abandon the partnership and form the E. Corporation. I. Dupont de Nemours and Company.” Eugene received the post of president, other family members took various leadership positions, and Alfred was appointed director.

When Eugene died in 1902, the Du Ponts concluded that they could no longer handle the business and decided to sell their business to Laughlin & Rand for $12 million. However, Alfred began to vigorously object to this and stated that for such a sum he himself was ready to purchase the family company, but he needed a little time to get the money. He involved his cousins ​​Coleman and Pierre in the case, who offered to pay the said amount and interest on the proceeds within a week, with only $2,100 in cash and the rest in bonds. A new Du Pont firm was established, with Coleman as president, Alfred as vice-president, and Pierre as treasurer.

At that time, the DuPont concern was a holding company that controlled a number of companies that were formally considered competitors. Of the 22 American companies that produced explosives, 15 were subsidiaries of either DuPont or Laughlin & Rand, and the interests of these two giants were closely intertwined. If the Laughlin concern decided to buy the company of its main competitor, the latter's position would be hopeless. The new owners of DuPont had one option left - to buy the Laughlin and Rand company themselves. Coleman did just that, agreeing on a price of $4 million. The terms of the deal here were the same as in the acquisition of the old Du Pont company: the cash contribution was a mere trifle - 2 thousand dollars, and the main amount was in bonds. Delaware Securities was established to sell bonds on stock exchanges. And in fact, it was not the Du Ponts who paid for the deal, but the bond buyers.

When all the explosives companies were so closely connected with each other, there was no longer any need for the Gunpowder Trust. Coleman disbanded it so as not to attract the attention of the vigilant government.

Over time, the young Du Ponts realized that gunpowder could give them access to the world of chemistry. They established several research laboratories and acquired their first paint and varnish plant. The organizational structure of the company's management was improved, and the newly established executive committee was headed by Coleman. The old methods of the “general” were no longer suitable. In 1905, a new reorganization of the company was carried out - it was transformed into the image of a cooperative hierarchy under the leadership of Pierre, a quiet man with an accounting mindset. Departments were created on a functional basis: production, sales, supply, equipment and technology, research and implementation. The Du Pont company's organizational structure became indistinguishable from any other large corporation. Product sales went well enough to pay generous dividends to shareholders, although the bulk of the income went, of course, to family members.

Still, not everything went smoothly. The family did not approve of Alfred's imprudent actions - his divorce and the immediately subsequent new marriage caused condemnation. It was believed that Alfred was extravagant, and reports of his adventures appeared too often in the press. In addition, the Du Pont company became embroiled in another antitrust lawsuit brought by the government in 1907, and Alfred, according to the family, did not take the problem seriously enough. As a threat to the business, his relatives gradually removed him from performing his duties. Stung by the machinations of his cousins ​​and considering himself dismissed, Alfred moved to Paris in 1911 and began to live there on an annual income of 400 thousand dollars.

Meanwhile, the antitrust case was taking a bad turn for the Du Ponts: all the evidence and testimony turned out to be in favor of the government. It has been proven that since 1902, when Coleman took over the family business, his company had absorbed 64 firms and established control over another 69. But, fortunately for the Du Ponts, representatives of the army and navy intervened in the process, who insisted that to maintain a monopoly in the interests of national security. As a result, the DuPont concern retained 12 factories, and 11 smaller factories were transferred to the newly created Hercules Powder company, and another 10 formed the Atlas Powder Company. At the same time, the DuPont company retained its leading position.

Coleman, despite poor health, continued to participate in production management, although Pierre was now the main leader of the company. The company was doing well: from 1904 to 1910. dividends increased by almost 12%. In addition, Coleman was involved in other enterprises that took up most of his time - his favorite creations were the Hotel McAlpin and the Equitable Building in New York. War was again looming on the horizon, and the Du Pont company was already preparing to once again supply huge quantities of gunpowder, pyroxylin and trinitrotoluene.

But Coleman's health continued to deteriorate, and he and Pierre disagreed on some issues regarding the direction of the company. In addition, Pierre began to recruit staff from outside the family. Needing cash for his own speculative operations, Coleman raised the possibility of selling his stake in the company. In order to avoid new family quarrels, he proposed that persons acting as “certain employees” of the company purchase 20 thousand shares at $160 apiece. The Allied powers in Europe were alarmed that Germany might acquire a stake in the Du Pont company. However, it soon became absolutely clear that the buyer of these shares had already been decided and it was none other than Pierre.

Indeed, a syndicate consisting of family members and their relatives had already been formed to purchase the shares. The operation was financed by the ubiquitous J.P. Morgan, who received $500,000 in commission for placing a loan of $8.5 million. Alfred argued that the success of the loan was ensured not by Pierre's personal authority, but by the prestige of the company. Therefore, he stated, the shares should become the property of the company. Pierre, not paying attention to Alfred, established a holding company to control the Du Pont enterprises, and formed Christiana Securities Corporation to finance the acquisition of Coleman's stake. Alfred's indignation knew no bounds. In retaliation, he opened a bank in Wilmington that was intended to rival financial affairs DuPont, and built a building for him, taller than the office of the DuPont company.

But all these were just detours, and the main blow was the court case that relatives sympathizing with Alfred brought against Pierre and his companions in order to force them to return Coleman's shareholding to the company. When the case reached federal court in 1916, the value of the disputed stake rose to $60 million. During the judicial investigation, it was discovered that all members of the Morgan banking consortium were holders of deposits in the DuPont company. The day after the loan deal was concluded at eleven of these banks, the amount of Du Pont's deposits suddenly tripled.

Pierre declared all this to be a coincidence; he swore that he did not know which banks had joined the Morgan syndicate. The bankers, in turn, swore in court that the loan was provided against Pierre’s personal obligations, and the latter argued that Alfred’s position could have caused damage to the company. All the accusations and counter-accusations completely convinced the judge that Alfred was the victim here, but instead of making a clear decision, he ordered a meeting of shareholders to elect new management of the company. In the ensuing battle, Pierre intimidated all shareholders, mostly members of the Du Pont family, with the threat of “serious economic consequences” and thus managed to achieve victory. Enraged, Alfred moved the matter to Supreme Court USA, where his claim was rejected in 1919.

However, after all this, Alfred was not at all poorer. A decade later, he accurately anticipated the onset of the stock market crash by selling $12 million worth of securities on time. His Florida real estate speculation and banking operations added to his already substantial wealth. When he died in 1935, his fortune was as significant as that of any of the Du Ponts. By 1962, the value of the property remaining after Alfred was estimated at $300 million, and the annual income from it exceeded $8 million, with the bulk of it going to the widow. A. Dupont's inheritance included large deposits in about 30 banks, a large paper mill, extensive timber lands, several railroads, an independent telephone company, over 700 thousand shares of E. I. Dupont de Nemours, 400 thousand shares of General Motors and significant real estate holdings in Florida and Delaware.

The Du Pont company also flourished, especially in military orders. During World War I, the Allied powers were told that their explosives needs could be met if they paid 50% of the cost of supplies in cash and agreed to a price level that would allow the Du Pont firm to quickly amortize its increased production capacity. To satisfy these conditions, you had to pay $1 per pound of explosives. By the end of 1916, the Du Pont company was producing 100 thousand tons of trinitrotoluene per month, which accounted for 40% of the Allied firepower. But when the United States entered the war, the price of smokeless powder was reduced to 47.5 cents per pound because Congress refused to pay more.

From 1914 to 1919 The annual profit of the Du Pont firm was approaching $60 million, whereas on the eve of the war it was only $5 million. The main benefit from this was the shareholders, i.e. the Du Pont family. The company acquired new paint and varnish plants, bought up military surplus on the cheap, and still had $90 million left to invest profitably.

John Raskob, one of Pierre's closest associates, offered to purchase additional shares of General Motors. Back in 1915, the “dynamite” dynasty infiltrated the automobile company, buying 3 thousand of its shares. Soon after this, four Du Ponts found themselves on its board of directors, and Pierre himself became chairman of the board. Raskob quickly realized that the automobile company could become a major buyer of dyes and varnishes. As a result, the Du Ponts invested $25 million in General Motors in 1918, and the same amount the following year. During the post-war crisis, the Du Ponts already had one-third of General Motors' assets concentrated in their hands, and they reorganized the company, whose affairs were shaken at that time, according to their own ideas. It was difficult and painstaking work, but in the end it turned General Motors into an industry leader.

The government was not happy with the “marriage” between General Motors and the DuPont company. In 1927, it took official steps to force the divorce of the two giants, but Washington's antitrust measures were in vain. Senators then attacked Du Pont's company in 1934, calling it a "merchant of death" and accusing it of supporting fascist and anti-Semitic groups while creating an international cartel of munitions manufacturers. In 1949, another lawsuit was brought against the Du Ponts, but the government also failed to win it.

Finally, in 1957, the Supreme Court determined that although the Du Ponts actually owned enough shares of General Motors to create a monopoly, they did not actually have the desire to break the law. However, the Du Ponts were given a ten-year period to get rid of 63 million shares of General Motors, worth more than a billion dollars. However, since the release of such a quantity of securities onto the market would create panic on the exchanges, it was even scary to think about it. On the other hand, distributing them among their own shareholders would mean having to pay tax on the increased capital, which also did not suit the family. A senator from Delaware found a way out of the situation by introducing a special amendment to tax laws allowing for an “orderly” disposal of shares in which no one would suffer.

By this time, the activities of the DuPont company were no longer limited to the production of gunpowder and dyes. Invented in 1868, cellophane was used in the 1920s. came under the control of the “dynamite” concern. The patent for the manufacture of leatherite ended up in the hands of the company when it acquired the Fabricoid Company in 1910. Next, the Du Ponts bought a company producing viscaloid, a synthetic from the celluloid family. The acquisition of Grascelli Chemicals in 1928 for $60 million heralded the Du Ponts' entry into the plastics industry. By 1958, their company could already boast of producing 1,200 different types of products. But the most remarkable event was the invention of nylon, made in 1934 by the company's chief chemist, Wallace Caruthers.

In 1952, DuPont began accepting orders for polyethylene, another synthetic product, from anyone. The company has expanded its activities throughout Earth, she settled in Great Britain, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Holland, Canada. It is currently involved in the production of food products, polymers, agricultural chemicals, pigments, polystyrene and electronic components.

The last decade of the 20th century was generally successful for E. I. Dupont de Nemours." The historical peak of the company's economic development was noted in the mid-1990s. At that time, DuPont's revenues exceeded $35 billion a year, and its net profit was over 13 billion. However, then there was a change in the company's development strategy. Thanks to the restructuring, some of the “excess” production was removed from the company, which greatly affected its financial condition. But by 2000, the situation had improved somewhat, and its income already amounted to 28 billion dollars with a net profit of 2.3 billion.

At present, DuPont's position on the stock exchange looks quite good against the general background. It managed to avoid a significant decline in capitalization during the fall of the main stock indices of the American market. However, there is still a long way to go to achieve better share price performance. The historical maximum for the price of DuPont securities was noted in May 1998, when it exceeded $80. But already in 2001, the average level around which the stock price fluctuated was $45. After the events of September 11, there was the most significant drop in quotations of E. I. Dupont de Nemours" for five years - they fell even below 35 dollars, but as a result of the ensuing correction they returned to their usual level.

Elena Vasilyeva, Yuri Pernatyev

From the book “50 Famous Businessmen of the 19th - Early 20th Centuries.”

Merchants of Death

This is the richest family in America. DuPont is a family-owned financial and industrial group in the United States; their main enterprise, the DuPont de Nemours concern, produces synthetic fibers, plastics, chemicals, oil and gas products, and mines coal.

The DuPonts control the largest industrial corporations and a number of credit and financial institutions.

The Duponts are descended from the French Huguenots, and the founder of the dynasty is Pierre Samuel Dupont, who founded Dupont de Nemours in 1803. Today there are about two thousand of his descendants, all of them are far from poor people. But this family also has its own financial elite, numbering up to three hundred people.

The Du Pont descendants are undoubtedly more educated than their parents and grandparents. They look at the world much more broadly and relate more easily to the vicissitudes of fate.

By the way, the fate of the Du Ponts refutes the popular belief that after three generations, poor people who become rich return to poverty. Today, at least the ninth generation of Du Ponts is swimming in gold, and they have no plans to go broke.

The largest Du Pont company is the oldest of them, Du Pont de Nemours, but there are many smaller entrepreneurs among the Du Ponts. Acting together, they constitute a great force. Unlike other families in which cooperation most often develops between siblings (like the Rockefellers, for example), the Du Ponts have well-developed coordination between cousins ​​and even between more distant relatives.

The Du Pont cousins ​​are united by a network of family holding companies and trust funds, which ensures uniformity in the management of family businesses.

DuPont de Nemours, having overcome the first difficulties of development, began to develop rapidly. Its owners, educated in France, produced high-quality gunpowder. The prosperity of the company was facilitated by both the war with England in 1812 and (to a greater extent) the civil war.

After the end of the war, when the country was overwhelmed with surplus gunpowder, the Du Ponts, together with the owners of other gunpowder factories, organized the Gunpowder Trade Association, known as the Powder Trust, which completely controlled the market for gunpowder and explosives and dictated prices for them. They sold their products cheaper than their competitors until they liquidated their businesses and then raised their prices again.

Various companies ruined by the trust were bought or absorbed by the Du Ponts. In 1912, a case was brought against the Du Ponts on charges of creating a monopoly. The generals and admirals who testified at the trial showed that the Du Pont monopoly on the production of smokeless military powder must not only be preserved, but also supported in the interests of national security. The court agreed with the opinion of the military.

During the First World War, DuPont de Nemours became the flagship of American industry: 40% of the shells produced by the Allies were thrown out of guns by the force of DuPont explosives, the company satisfied 50% of the country's domestic needs for dynamite and black powder.

With the money earned during this war, the Du Ponts bought a stake in the General Motors Corporation, formed as a result of the merger of 21 independent automobile companies, and soon acquired a controlling stake in this company.

In addition to the automobile industry, after World War I, the Du Ponts were able to penetrate the chemical, oil and rubber industries. They have substantial stock portfolios in other large companies: United States Rubber Company, Wilmington Trust Company, American Sugar Refining Company, Midcontinent Petroleum Corporation, Philips Petroleum Company and United Fruit Company. In addition, the Du Ponts created the Bredin, Carpenter, Good Samaritan, Kremer, Sharp, Theano and many others foundations.

In the mid-thirties, a case was again brought against the Du Ponts on charges of creating a monopoly. Newspapers denounced them as “merchants of death.” But this trial generally ended in favor of the industrialists.

During the Second World War, the government invited DuPont de Nemours to develop atomic weapons, because it was the only company that had necessary equipment and specialists capable of performing such a task.

After lengthy negotiations, the Du Ponts agreed, stipulating that their profit would be one dollar. This was a political move made in order not to ruin his reputation. After all, otherwise the newspapers could accuse the Du Ponts of profiting from the deaths of millions of people.

After World War II, the Du Ponts turned to the production of peaceful products, the advertising of which reads: “the best things for better life with the help of chemistry."

The Du Ponts are Protestants by religion, and Republicans by worldview. They have always been support and support Republican Party. Particularly significant was the participation of the Du Ponts in the fight against Democratic Party in the 1930s. If they themselves are not kings, then at least they nominate and approve kings.