 War Dogs follows the story of massage therapist David Packow, struggling to support his pregnant girlfriend. Worried about the future, David meets up with his old high school friend, Ephraim de Verralli, who's played by Jonah Hill. He's an arms dealer for the US Army who makes David an offer to become an international arms dealer. The duo exploits a government initiative that allows small businesses to bid on military contracts and find themselves landing a $300 million deal to supply Afghan forces. The film was met with mixed reviews, with many enjoying how the writing and performances, especially from Hill, managed to make serious real-world events more palatable through the tactical use of comedy. War Dogs' true story inspiration seems hard to believe. However, while War Dogs does dramaticize certain elements to make them more suitable for cinematic retelling, the core story is faithful to reality. Guy Lawson's article was later expanded into a book, Arms and the Dudes, which set the foundation for Philip's biopic. Packout was working as a massage therapist before reuniting with his former high school friend, and he also went on to sell sheets he bought from textile companies overseas. Meanwhile, de Verralli was shipped off to Los Angeles midway through high school where he sold guns with his uncle, and learned about arms dealing before partnering with Packout to do it on a bigger level. Ephraim went on to become a millionaire at 18 years old, using his expertise to outbid larger companies for smaller, more disposable deals. How he acquired his insight into the trade and then used it is all fact. And down to the website the Department of Defense used to post weapon contracts for public auction. De Verralli's life was shocking in the War Dogs movie. Thanks to the conviction of the performances by Don't Look Ups Jonah Hill, beyond Packout and De Verralli's lives in War Dogs, the facts surrounding the government's involvement in their lives, such as being under pressure to level the playing field after being scrutinized for giving no bid contracts to big companies, were also accurate. A lot of the subtleties to the characters and stories were well founded. Details like how the pair both got high before a big meeting with the military heads are true and add to the absurdity of it all. Even Anna DeArmas' role as Packout's girlfriend was based on a real person, despite some theorists suggesting she was added into the movie for the sake of creating conflict. Did they really undercut their competition for the Afghan deal by $53 million? Yes, their $298 million bid undercut big name competitors like Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics by about $53 million, which won them the contract. The government never gave an age limit specification for the ammo in the contract. As a result, AEY was able to source cheap ammo that was manufactured in 1966, in the era of the Vietnam War. Like in the movie, The New York Times got one of this, in addition to rival companies who spread rumors that they were drug dealers in over their heads. As they continued to find cheaper places to source ammunition, their commission on the Afghan deal rose to a hefty $85 million. The Afghan deal wasn't the first time AEY Incorporated had operated dishonestly. In order to double his money on a deal, Efrem DeVirali once swapped high-end weapons for poorly made Korean copies. On another occasion, he sent the Iraqi army poorer quality helmets than the helmets they'd paid for. While War Dogs does get the essence of its story and character is correct, some creative liberties were taken to embellish certain things, namely the drama. This is a common practice in on-screen adaptations of true crime stories. One notable difference, DeVirali shooting a gun off after a deal fell through, as seen in the film's trailer and poster, did not occur. This is, of course, a moment that shows DeVirali's obsession with money and power, but he wasn't as reckless in real life. In a similar fashion, none of the actions that take place in War Dogs actually happened either. Pac-Out and DeVirali did find themselves in precarious situations, but it was mostly from behind a computer screen. Phillips makes their job seem far more dangerous than it ever was to heighten the story. When the pair went abroad, it was for gun shows and the like. They never came under fire for transporting arms, and they never even went through Iraq's famous Triangle of Death, either. Another notable moment that didn't really happen was when Pac-Out gets kidnapped by Henry Gerard, played by Maestro's Bradley Cooper. The sequence bookends War Dogs, but it was all fiction. Pac-Out wasn't even a point man in Albania. Cooper's Gerard was also based on a real person, inspired by Swiss Army dealer Henry Tommet. Though Tommet did try to rip them off and was cut from the big deal shortly thereafter as a result, no kidnapping and torturing of any kind occurred. Ephraim and David are also said to be around the same age, which isn't true. At the time they reunited, Ephraim was 19 and David was 23. How did the government not realize they were working with less than reliable potheds? Journalist Guy Larson's 2011 Rolling Stone article on which the movie was based actually focuses much more on the Pentagon's culpability, especially their lack of specifications regarding the ammo and their failure to properly vet the company they were working with. AEY had in fact been placed on the State Department's watch list after importing illegal firearms, but the list was never checked by the Pentagon. They also failed to take into consideration the bids AEY had previously defaulted on, which resulted in a less than seller track record. They got a lot of it in, says Larson of the real events depicted in the movie, but you watch the end and you think it's about these two guys. It's not. It's about the system. The Pentagon had turned a blind eye to what private contractors like AEY were doing to acquire the arms. It was evident the Pentagon knew AEY had been shipping Chinese-made ammunition to Afghanistan, but the government was not charged in the case. Yet, a Pentagon investigation concluded that when the contract fell through, it led to mass shortages in the supply of ammo in Afghanistan in 2008. What did War Dogs, Pac-Out, and Devarale do after the movie's events? And where are they now? The War Dogs portrays Pac-Out and Devarale as best friends, which they were. The pair have cut ties in the years since their arms operation was shut down. Pac-Out's life has changed direction, which recently is partly due to his involvement in the Todd Phillips film. In fact, Teller and Phillips directly consulted with Pac-Out for the project, which is why so much of the minutiae in details are accurate. He even visited the set and attended the film's premiere, clearly not ashamed of his past and wanting this story to be done right. Now, Pac-Out works as a musician and has his own company which sells electronic drum kits. This is, of course, when he's not traveling the world, something he's fond of or tending to his daughter. His days of gun-running are long behind him. According to Pac-Out, Efrem Devarale became gradually more difficult to work with and even accused the AEY president of withholding money from him. Pac-Out flipped on his former partner to the feds, but Devarale played down Pac-Out's part in the company and claimed that he was merely a part-time employee who only closed one very small deal with my help and dropped the ball on a dozen others. Nonetheless, the lifetime of breaking rules caught up to Devarale. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy to defraud the US government. He was 23 years old. I have had many experiences in my short life, Devarale said before judge Joanne Leonard in court, I have done more than most people can dream of, but I would have done it differently. All the notoriety in my industry and all the good times cannot make up for the damage. Before he could even be sentenced, Devarale couldn't help himself but handle a few firearms in the meantime. Upon his sentencing for what she was already bound to receive four years in prison, he got a further two years of supervised release. His partners received lesser punishments for cooperating with the investigation. True to his personal brand, Devarale continued to wheel and deal while in jail and looked for shorter prison time and more power, as he explained to his father. Since then, Devarale hasn't stayed clear of the law. He sued Warner Bros for defamation and war dogs, but the lawsuit was thrown out. Then he became entangled in a court battle with a man who co-authored his memoir, Once a Gun Runner. Devarale also started a media company named Incarcerated Entertainment. In all, he seems to be doing well for himself as of late. According to former A.Y. investor Ralph Merrill, Ephraim Devarale lives in a condo with a locked gate and drives a BMW. David Packow and Ephraim Devarale's net worth. The net worth of celebrities is always a topic of interest for the film and series viewers. And though David Packow and Ephraim Devarale no longer have access to $100 million contract opportunities, they're still millionaires. Packow is estimated to have a net worth of around $2.9 million thanks to his music business, as well as his involvement in the production of war dogs. Curiously, there's less certainty regarding the real net worth of Ephraim Devarale, which could be anywhere between $15 to $25 million. This data is estimated from the apparent success of Once a Gun Runner, as well as his various business ventures, and the discrepancies between these differing approximations are likely due to his multiple lawsuits. War dogs real Packow and Devarale are doing pretty well for themselves, all things considered. This is especially true when comparing Packow and Devarale's fates to other high-level criminals with mysterious deaths, lifelong prison sentences, or those still being hunted by the authorities. Neither Packow nor Devarale is likely to score a multi-million dollar deals with the government anytime soon. But considering how they're respectively worth around $2.9 million and $15 million, it would seem that these former war dogs are finally playing their cards right.