The Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust is a non-profit organization created by philanthropist
Alfred Irénée du Pont in 1935, devoted to supporting the trust's sole charitable beneficiary, the
Nemours Foundation. As of December 31, 2008, the trust's value was $3.25 billion. At the end of January 2009, it had improved to $4.6 billion, but was still down from $5.5 billion in 2007.
The organization's official website states it oversees approximately $5 billion in assets.
History
The Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust was created as per Alfred I. du Pont's will after his death in 1935.
At the time, du Pont's assets included seven
Florida National Banks, significant landholdings in Northwest Florida,
E. I du Pont de Nemours Company shares, and the
Nemours and
Epping Forest estates. The value of the assets was approximately $40 million (equivalent to approximately $1.72 billion in 2014). The duPont Trustees, specifically du Pont's brother-in-law
Edward Ball, created the
St. Joe Paper Company
The St. Joe Company is a land development company headquartered in Panama City Beach, Florida. Founded in 1936 and until 1966 known as St. Joe Paper Company, the company still operates a forestry division but is primarily engaged in real estate d ...
and began operating a paper mill in 1938. The trust had a 1939 value of $72.5 million.
Du Pont's will specifically requested funds be used to help disabled children.
In 1940, funds from the trust were used to open the
Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in duPont's hometown of
Wilmington, Delaware.
After Alfred's widow
Jessie Ball du Pont
Jessie Ball duPont (January 20, 1884 – September 26, 1970) was an American teacher, philanthropist and designated a Great Floridian by the Florida Department of State.[Raymond K. Mason
Raymond Knight Mason (February 28, 1927 - January 2, 2020) was an American business leader for nearly sixty years, almost 40 as head of the Charter Company in Jacksonville, Florida. Charter was in the Fortune 500 for 11 years beginning in 1974 a ...]
. Before
Charter Company was broken up by bankruptcy in the late 1980s, Mason sold Epping Forest to
Herb Peyton and
Gate Petroleum in 1984. Peyton is presently a duPont trustee.
Before Ball's death, the trust and foundation signed a 1980 consent agreement with Delaware and Florida which stipulated that the Nemours Foundation would annually receive the greater of: 3 percent of the trust's net market value or the net annual income from the trust assets.
Additionally, at least 50 percent of Nemours funds must be spent in Delaware, and a $25 million contingency fund must be reserved for Delaware's operations.
Nemours
The
Nemours Foundation operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington; the Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando; the Nemours Children's Clinics in Delaware, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey; and the
Nemours Mansion and Gardens.
Leadership
Following Alfred du Pont's death in 1935, Edward Ball controlled the trust until his own death in 1981. W.L. Thornton, former CEO of
St. Joe Company and
Florida East Coast Industries, succeeded Ball and was chairman of the trust for 23 years. Hugh Durden, corporate trustee since 1997, now a retired executive from
Wachovia Bank, was elected chairman on January 24, 2005.
Trustees
Major investments shift
The Trust was valued at $1.9 billion in January 1996.
The
St. Joe Company was originally owned by the duPont Trust. After the company went public, the duPont trust owned 70 percent of the 30.6 million shares outstanding. The company's stock did well, rising from 53 in February, 1995 to 115 in December, 1997. The corresponding trust value increased from $1.1 billion to $2.4 billion. The problem was that duPont's will stipulated an annual disbursement of the amount equal to 3 percent of the trust's value. St. Joe's annual dividend of 20¢ only generated $4.26 million and the required payout was over $72 million, so the trust was forced to sell 4 million shares to invest in a security producing substantially more income than St. Joe. That left a 57 percent stake, which was reduced by additional stock sales to 23 percent. On May 28, 2004, the trust filed paperwork to divest as many as 12 million more shares, leaving an 8 percent ownership.
On October 9, 2000, St. Joe divested its 54 percent interest in
Florida East Coast Industries by distributing FECI Class B common shares to St. Joe shareholders; the DuPont Trust received a large block of FECI stock.
Headquarters
For many years, the trust shared a building with the Nemours Foundation on Jacksonville's Southside.
The new headquarters of the trust is a , five-floor building on the
St. Johns riverfront in
Jacksonville, Florida which was scheduled to open October 1, 2008.
General contractor
Elkins Constructors began work on the trust's new home on July 17, 2007; noted architect
Graham Gund contributed to the design as a
green building according to
LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
standards for environmentally sustainable construction developed by the
United States Green Building Council.
The most outstanding aspect of the $20 million structure is its ability to conserve.
The building has a stone exterior, copious large windows, and was described in the local newspaper as "opulent."
According to Hugh Durden, chairman of its board of trustees, "We were looking for a 100-year building...(with) timeless design that is both useful and enduring. If you're going to be here for decades, that becomes a cost-effective investment."
The bottom floor is a parking garage for workers, so that most of the property is landscaping, rather than parking lot. Three 10,000-gallon underground cisterns capture rainfall, which is then used for landscape irrigation, so a large retention pond is not required. The four-story atrium is capped by a pyramid-shaped skylight, flooding the interior of the building with sunshine and warmth during cool months. Some interior walls contain opaque glass to share light between areas; sensors turn off lights in unoccupied rooms. For employees who want to conserve gas, there is a bus stop within a block of the building, and bicycle storage plus locker rooms for cyclists. Lastly, heating and cooling systems are high efficiency and limit power usage during peak demand periods.
Litigation
In June 2012, the State of Delaware filed suit against the trust, claiming the trustees were not following duPont's intentions and Delaware was not receiving its proper yearly distribution. Furthermore, Delaware Attorney General
Beau Biden asserted that the $72 million renovation of the Nemours Mansion and Gardens in Wilmington should not have been included in Delaware's share of foundation distributions.
For several years, the trust had been making plans to split the $4 billion asset portfolio into two segments, with a small portion going to a taxable annuitants' trust for individuals named in duPont's will, and the majority of assets remaining in the tax-exempt charitable trust. Doing so would allow the foundation to avoid the yearly assessment of several million dollars in foreign taxes. The Delaware lawsuit may delay those plans until that litigation is resolved.
References
{{Reflist, 2
External links
Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust websiteNemours Foundation website
Non-profit organizations based in Jacksonville, Florida
Organizations established in 1935
Financial endowments
Medical and health foundations in the United States
Alfred I. du Pont
Brooklyn, Jacksonville
Banks based in Jacksonville, Florida