John Francis Dodge (b.1954)

John F. Dodge Jr., of Palm Beach, Florida

He was brought up by his mother, a former actress and beauty queen who squeezed $20 million from the Dodge family in the 1960s, only to be declared bankrupt in 1978. She was also charged with raiding John's trust fund. He was one of the three of the seven grandchildren of Mrs Anna Dodge to be cut out of her will, worth an estimated $100 million. Having been a Florida youth tennis champion, he met Karen Flanagan at a party hosted by Alexander Guest (son of C.Z. Guest) and the two fell into a world of drugs, alcohol and addiction. John lost his home (1015 S. Ocean Boulevard a few doors down from Mar-a-Lago) and every part of his trust fund he could access. They eventually went into rehab but when that didn't work for Karen he took custody of their son and divorced her. But, he fell off the wagon and was arrested in 1985 for forging prescriptions. Following a police chase, he served a year in jail and then inherited $1.1 million months after his release, but he lost custody of his son. As of 2013, he was reported to be dividing his time between Palm Beach & South Carolina.
Contributed by Mark Meredith on 20/04/2021 and last updated on 22/04/2021.
The Rehabilitation of Karen Dodge, by Barbara Marshall for Palm Beach Post, 2013