Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont (1870-1954) was the great grandson of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, and that company played a major role in P.S. du Pont's life. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1890 and became assistant superintendent of the DuPont Company's black powder mills in Delaware. In 1902 he worked with two cousins, T. Coleman (1863-1930) and Alfred I. du Pont (1864-1935), to reorganize the DuPont Company. With T. Coleman as president, Pierre became vice president, treasurer, and assistant secretary. As a member of the finance committee, he played a pivotal role in reorganizing the company into a large, modern corporation. In 1915 P.S. du Pont purchased T. Coleman du Pont's stock and became president of the company. He was also elected director of the General Motors Company, which at the time was near bankruptcy. Working with Alfred Sloan (1875-1966), he reorganized the company and in 1920 replaced William C. Durant (1861-1947) as president.

Along with an active business career, du Pont was involved in social issues and philanthropic concerns. In the 1920s he was a pivotal member of the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment. In the years between 1934 and 1941, he was a member of the American Liberty League. du Pont was also concerned with issues in his native state of Delaware; these included improving African-American education and building better roads, especially on Kennett Pike.

du Pont's personal life, which is well documented by the photographic collection he left, followed certain themes. The greatest of these may be horticultural interests which developed during his creation of the celebrated Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, where he lived. Longwood Gardens is one of the United State's premier botanical gardens and attracts over 1 million visitors per year. du Pont made many foreign and domestic journeys and recorded his travels. His large extended family is included in his photography collection. du Pont, who married Alice Belin (1872-1944) in 1915, died without issue in 1954.