He became a major benefactor for his home town, Neuchâtel, where he funded the construction of schools, hospitals, government buildings, and served as a patron of various local charities.

De Pury has become a controversial figure in the 21st-century for his connection to the Atlantic slave trade through his business endeavors in Latin America.

[3] In 1725 de Pury left Switzerland and moved to Marseille, France, where he worked in maritime trade with the merchant Isaac Tarteiron for three years.

From Portugal, de Pury established a business importing diamonds from Brazil, trading them in London's financial center.

[6] A portrait of de Pury, painted by Thomas Hickey, hangs in the charter room in the town hall in Neuchâtel.

In June 2020 the Collectif Pour La Mémoire petitioned to have the statue in Neuchâtel removed since the majority of his wealth came from investments and holdings in industries that depended on forced labor of enslaved African people, inspired by the numerous monuments removed following the murder of George Floyd in the United States.

[10][11] The Collectif Pour La Mémoire stated in their petition, signed by over 2,000 people, that "the money inherited by David de Pury, at his death in 1786, was used to carry out a large number of works in the town of Neuchâtel but it was won by the blood of black people from Africa forced into slavery in the 18th century.