Martin Shkreli (; born March 17, 1983) is an American former
hedge fund
A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...
manager.
Shkreli is the co-founder of the hedge funds Elea Capital, MSMB Capital Management, and MSMB Healthcare; the co-founder and former
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
(CEO) of the
pharmaceutical
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...
firms Retrophin and Turing Pharmaceuticals (now
Vyera Pharmaceuticals); and the former CEO of start-up software company Gödel Systems, which he founded in August 2016.
In September 2015, Shkreli was widely criticized when Turing obtained the manufacturing license for the
antiparasitic
Antiparasitics are a class of medications which are indicated for the treatment of parasitic diseases, such as those caused by helminths, amoeba, ectoparasites, parasitic fungi, and protozoa, among others. Antiparasitics target the parasitic agent ...
drug
Daraprim
Pyrimethamine, sold under the brand name Daraprim among others, is a medication used with leucovorin (leucovorin is used to decrease side effects of pyrimethamine; it does not have intrinsic anti-parasitic activity) to treat the parasitic disea ...
and raised its price by 5,455% (from to $750 per pill). In 2017, Shkreli was charged and convicted in federal court on two counts of
securities fraud
Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in los ...
and one count of conspiring to commit securities fraud, unrelated to the Daraprim controversy.
He was sentenced to seven years in federal prison and up to $7.4 million in fines.
[Tom Hays & Colleen Long]
'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli cries in court, is sentenced to 7 years for securities fraud
, Associated Press, March 9, 2018. In the civil case he was fined a further $64.6 million to be given to victims nationwide.
Prior to May 2022, Shkreli was held at the
low-security federal prison in
Allenwood, Pennsylvania
Allenwood (also called Union Town) is a census-designated place in Gregg Township, Union County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, N ...
, with an expected release date in September 2022.
On May 18, 2022, it was announced that Shkreli had been released early.
Early life
Shkreli was born in
Coney Island Hospital
The hospital's Behavioral Health Clinic
Coney Island Hospital is a public teaching hospital located in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It is owned by NYC Health + Hospitals, a public benefit corporation of the city. ...
in the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
on March 17, 1983, to
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
immigrant parents.
His parents were Roman Catholic, and he said his religion has been "a guiding post" for him, although he does not believe in God. His parents immigrated to the United States and worked as janitors.
He, his two sisters, and his brother grew up in a
working-class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
community in
Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn
Sheepshead Bay is a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn, New York City. It is bounded by Ocean Parkway to the west; Avenue T and Kings Highway to the north; Nostrand Avenue and Gerritsen Avenue to the east; and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. S ...
.
By most accounts, Shkreli was raised
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and attended Sunday school as a child.
Shkreli attended
Hunter College High School
Hunter College High School is a secondary school located in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It is administered by Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY). Hunter is publicly funded, and there i ...
. Sources differ on whether Shkreli graduated from Hunter
or whether he was expelled before his senior year and received the credits necessary for his high school diploma through
City-As-School High School
City-As-School (CAS) is a public high school located at 16 Clarkson Street between Hudson Street (Manhattan), Hudson Street and Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue South in the West Village of Manhattan, New York City which was establishe ...
.
He ended up in a program that placed him in an internship at Wall Street hedge fund
Cramer, Berkowitz and Company when he was 17.
Shkreli received a
bachelor's degree in business administration from
Baruch College
Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates und ...
in 2004.
Shkreli told ''
Vanity Fair'' that he developed an interest in chemistry when a family member suffered from treatment-resistant
depression.
Career
During Shkreli's time at Cramer, Berkowitz and Company, he recommended
short-selling
In finance, being short in an asset means investing in such a way that the investor will profit if the value of the asset falls. This is the opposite of a more conventional "long" position, where the investor will profit if the value of the ...
the stock of
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an American biotechnology company headquartered in Westchester County, New York. The company was founded in 1988. Originally focused on neurotrophic factors and their regenerative capabilities, giving rise to i ...
, a biotech company testing a weight-loss drug. When its price dropped in accordance with Shkreli's prediction, Cramer's hedge fund profited. Shkreli's prediction drew the attention of the
Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
, which investigated Shkreli's knowledge about the stock but was unable to prove wrongdoing on his part.
MSMB Capital Management
After four years as an associate at Cramer Berkowitz, Shkreli worked as a financial analyst for Intrepid Capital Management and
UBS
UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...
Wealth Management. He then started his first hedge fund, Elea Capital Management, in 2006.
In 2007,
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Gol ...
sued Elea in New York state court for failing to cover a '
put option
In finance, a put or put option is a derivative instrument in financial markets that gives the holder (i.e. the purchaser of the put option) the right to sell an asset (the ''underlying''), at a specified price (the ''strike''), by (or at) a s ...
transaction' in which Shkreli bet the wrong way on a broad market decline. When stocks rose, Shkreli did not have the money to cover his losses. In October 2007, Lehman Brothers won a $2.3 million default judgment against Shkreli and Elea, but
Lehman collapsed before it could collect on the ruling.
[
In September 2009, Shkreli started MSMB Capital Management,] which took its name from the initials of the two founding portfolio managers, Shkreli and his childhood friend, Marek Biestek. Shkreli and Biestek shorted biotech companies, then described flaws in the companies on stock trading chat rooms.
On February 1, 2011, in a naked short sale on an account it held with Merrill Lynch
Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
, MSMB Capital sold short 32 million shares of Orexigen Therapeutics stock at about $2.50 per share the day after its price plunged from $9.09, when the Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
(FDA) declined to approve the drug naltrexone/bupropion
Naltrexone/bupropion, sold under the brand name Contrave among others, is a fixed-dose combination medication for the management of chronic obesity in adults in combination with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. It contains ...
(Contrave). The stock price rebounded; MSMB could not cover the position, although it had told Merrill Lynch that it could. Merrill Lynch lost $7 million on the trade and MSMB Capital was virtually wiped out. Retrophin
Martin Shkreli (; born March 17, 1983) is an American former hedge fund manager. Shkreli is the co-founder of the hedge funds Elea Capital, MSMB Capital Management, and MSMB Healthcare; the co-founder and former chief executive officer (CEO) of ...
's 2015 SEC Complaint contended Shkreli had created MSMB Healthcare and Retrophin "so that he could continue trading after MSMB Capital became insolvent and to create an asset that he might be able to use to placate his MSMB Capital investors."
In 2011, Shkreli filed requests with the FDA to reject a new cancer diagnostic device from Navidea Biopharmaceuticals and an inhalable insulin
Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...
therapy from MannKind Corporation while publicly short-selling both companies' stocks, the values of which dropped after Skhreli's interventions. The companies had difficulty launching the products as a result, although the FDA ultimately approved both.
In 2011, MSMB made an unsolicited cash bid for AMAG Pharmaceuticals at a price of . Matthew Herper of ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' wrote that the attempted hostile takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...
was "done for the specific purpose of firing the company's management and stopping a proposed merger with Allos Therapeutics. When the merger plans stopped, so did Shkreli."
Retrophin
Shkreli founded Retrophin (a portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[dystrophin
Dystrophin is a rod-shaped cytoplasmic protein, and a vital part of a protein complex that connects the cytoskeleton of a muscle fiber to the surrounding extracellular matrix through the cell membrane. This complex is variously known as the cost ...](_blank)
") in 2011 under the MSMB umbrella and ran it as a portfolio company with an emphasis on biotechnology, to create treatments for rare disease
A rare disease is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population. In some parts of the world, an orphan disease is a rare disease whose rarity means there is a lack of a market large enough to gain support and resources for discove ...
s.
Retrophin's board decided to replace Shkreli in September 2014, and he resigned from the company the following month. He was replaced by Stephen Aselage. During Shkreli's tenure as CEO, the company's employees used alias Twitter accounts to make gangster rap jokes and encourage short selling of other biotech stocks.
After Shkreli's departure, Retrophin filed a lawsuit against him in August 2015, claiming that he had breached his duty of loyalty to the biopharmaceutical company in a long-running dispute over his use of company funds and "committed stock-trading irregularities and other violations of securities rules." The lawsuit alleged that Shkreli had threatened and harassed a former MSMB employee and his family.
Shkreli and some of his business associates have been under criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York since January 2015. Shkreli invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination
In criminal law, self-incrimination is the act of exposing oneself generally, by making a statement, "to an accusation or charge of crime; to involve oneself or another ersonin a criminal prosecution or the danger thereof". (Self-incrimination ...
in order to avoid testifying during civil depositions.
Shkreli's name is on two patents held by Retrophin for drugs to treat PKAN.
In November 2020, Eric Dube, Retrophin's new chief executive, announced the company would be rebranded as Travere Therapeutics Inc. in an effort to further distance the company from Shkreli, and said the company is no longer working on treatments for the disease from which the company takes its name.
Views on Shkreli's leadership
Columnist Adam Feuerstein said Shkreli was intelligent but too immature and unfocused for the job of CEO. In July 2017, at Shkreli's criminal trial, Stephen Aselage, who was hired by Shkreli in October 2012, testified "He's a brilliant intellect, visionary."
Thiola price hike controversy
In May 2014, Shkreli had difficulty accessing public markets for capital, but received a $4 million series A funding
A series A round (also known as series A financing or series A investment) is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exchan ...
round and a PIPE deal
A private investment in public equity, often called a PIPE deal, involves the selling of publicly traded stock, common shares or some form of preferred stock or convertible security to private investors. It is an share allocation, allocation of sha ...
valued at $10 million underwritten by Roth Capital Partners. After obtaining the financing, Shkreli was able to acquire rights to market tiopronin
Tiopronin, sold under the brand name Thiola, is a medication used to control the rate of cystine precipitation and excretion in the disease cystinuria. Due to the rarity of the disorder, tiopronin falls under the classification of an orphan drug ...
(brand name Thiola), a drug used to treat the rare disease cystinuria
Cystinuria is an inherited autosomal recessive disease characterized by high concentrations of the amino acid cystine in the urine, leading to the formation of cystine stones in the kidneys, ureters, and bladder. It is a type of aminoaciduria. ...
, and another drug Chenodal, and subsequently raised the price of each drug substantially, with Thiola being marked up about 20 fold, from $1.50 to $30 per pill (patients must take 10 to 15 pills a day), and Chenodal about fivefold. Retrophin did not lower the price of these drugs after Shkreli's departure.
In 2016, Imprimis Pharmaceuticals
Harrow Health, formerly known as Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, is a publicly traded pharmaceutical company () based in Nashville, TN.
Since 2014, Harrow has started six healthcare businesses, including ImprimisRx, an ophthalmic-focused pharmaceut ...
introduced a lower cost version of Thiola marketed as a compounded drug.
Turing Pharmaceuticals
Shkreli founded Turing Pharmaceuticals
Vyera Pharmaceuticals (formerly Turing Pharmaceuticals) is a pharmaceutical company incorporated in Zug, Switzerland, with offices in New York City. The company started to do business in the US as Vyera Pharmaceuticals in September 2017.
The com ...
in February 2015, after his departure from Retrophin. He launched Turing with three drugs in development acquired from Retrophin: An intranasal
Nasal administration, popularly known as snorting, is a route of administration in which drugs are insufflated through the nose. It can be a form of either topical administration or systemic administration, as the drugs thus locally delivere ...
version of ketamine
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used medically for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. It is also used as a recreational drug. It is one of the safest anesthetics, as, in contrast with opiates, ether, and propofol, it suppresses ne ...
for depression, an intranasal version of oxytocin
Oxytocin (Oxt or OT) is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide normally produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary. It plays a role in social bonding, reproduction, childbirth, and the period after childbirth. Oxytocin ...
, and Vecamyl for hypertension
Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...
. Shkreli set a business strategy for Turing: To obtain licenses on out-of-patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
medicines, and reevaluate the pricing of each in pursuit of windfall profits for the new company, without the need to develop and bring its own drugs to market. As markets for out-of-patent drugs are often small, and obtaining regulatory approval to manufacture a generic version is expensive, Turing calculated that with closed distribution for the product and no competition, it could set high prices.[
]
Daraprim price-hike controversy
On August 10, 2015, in accordance with Shkreli's business plan, Turing acquired Daraprim (pyrimethamine
Pyrimethamine, sold under the brand name Daraprim among others, is a medication used with leucovorin (leucovorin is used to decrease side effects of pyrimethamine; it does not have intrinsic anti-parasitic activity) to treat the parasitic dise ...
), a medication approved by the FDA in 1953, from Impax Laboratories for . The drug's most prominent use as of late 2015 was as an anti-malarial and an antiparasitic
Antiparasitics are a class of medications which are indicated for the treatment of parasitic diseases, such as those caused by helminths, amoeba, ectoparasites, parasitic fungi, and protozoa, among others. Antiparasitics target the parasitic agent ...
, in conjunction with leucovorin
Folinic acid, also known as leucovorin, is a medication used to decrease the toxic effects of methotrexate and pyrimethamine. It is also used in combination with 5-fluorouracil to treat colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer, may be used to tr ...
and sulfadiazine, to treat patients with both AIDS-related and AIDS-unrelated toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by ''Toxoplasma gondii'', an apicomplexan. Infections with toxoplasmosis are associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric and behavioral conditions. Occasionally, people may have a few weeks or months ...
.
The patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
for Daraprim had expired, but no generic
Generic or generics may refer to:
In business
* Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark
* Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...
version was available. The Turing–Impax deal included the condition that Impax remove the drug from regular wholesalers and pharmacies, and so in June 2015, two months before the sale to Turing was announced, Impax switched to tightly controlled distribution. In keeping with its strategy for pricing in the face of limited competition, Turing maintained the closed distribution. The ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' said that the deal "made sense only if Turing planned to raise the price of the drug substantially."
On September 17, 2015, Dave Muoio of ''Healio'', an in-depth clinical information website for health care specialists, reported on a letter from the Infectious Diseases Society of America
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is a medical association representing physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who specialize in infectious diseases. It was founded in 1963 and is based in Arlington, Virginia. ...
and the HIV Medicine Association to executives at Turing, questioning a new pricing for Daraprim.[ The price of a dose of the drug in the U.S. market increased by a factor of 56 (from to per pill) overnight.]
The price increase was initially criticized, jointly, by the Infectious Diseases Society of America
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is a medical association representing physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who specialize in infectious diseases. It was founded in 1963 and is based in Arlington, Virginia. ...
and the HIV Medicine Association, by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA, pronounced ), formerly known as the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, is a trade group representing companies in the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. Founded in 195 ...
, and soon thereafter by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
, Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
, and Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
.
A subsequent organized effort called on Turing to return pricing to pre-September levels and to address several matters relating to the needs of patients, an effort that garnered endorsements from more than 160 medical‑specialty and patient‑related organizations (, 164 organizations from 31 states, the District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
).
In response to the controversy, the record label Collect Records publicly ended its business relationship with Shkreli, who had invested in the company.
In a September 2015 interview with ''Bloomberg Markets
''Bloomberg Markets'' is a magazine published six times a year by Bloomberg L.P. as part of Bloomberg News. Aimed at global financial professionals, ''Bloomberg Markets'' publishes articles on the people and issues related to global financial ma ...
'', Shkreli said that despite the price increase, patient co-pays would actually be lower, that many patients would get the drug at no cost, that Turing had expanded its free drug program, and that it sold half of its drugs for one dollar. He defended the price hike by saying, "If there was a company that was selling an Aston Martin at the price of a bicycle, and we buy that company and we ask to charge Toyota prices, I don't think that that should be a crime."
A few days later, Shkreli announced that he planned to lower the price by an unspecified amount, "in response to the anger that was felt by people."[ But in late November, Turing reversed course and said it would not lower the price after all.]
Following a request by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Elijah Cummings
Elijah Eugene Cummings (January 18, 1951October 17, 2019) was an American politician and civil rights advocate who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1996 until his death in 2019, when he was succeeded by his predecess ...
for details of Turing Pharmaceuticals' finances and price-setting practices in September 2015, the company hired four lobbyist
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
s from Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney with backgrounds in health care legislation and pharmaceutical pricing. In addition to lobbyists, Shkreli hired a crisis public relations firm to help explain the pricing decision.
On October 22, 2015, Mark L. Baum, CEO of Imprimis Pharmaceuticals
Harrow Health, formerly known as Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, is a publicly traded pharmaceutical company () based in Nashville, TN.
Since 2014, Harrow has started six healthcare businesses, including ImprimisRx, an ophthalmic-focused pharmaceut ...
, announced that his company would provide a combination product containing pyrimethamine (the active ingredient in Daraprim) and leucovorin at "$1-a-pill" as a cheaper and more efficient alternative to Daraprim. This product was intended to be used alongside sulfadiazine in the standard protocol to treat toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by ''Toxoplasma gondii'', an apicomplexan. Infections with toxoplasmosis are associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric and behavioral conditions. Occasionally, people may have a few weeks or months ...
typically seen in AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
patients.[
Baum said, "This is not the first time a sole supply generic drug – especially one that has been approved for use as long as Daraprim – has had its price increased suddenly and to a level that may make it unaffordable." He announced the availability of the compounded replacement for Daraprim as a part of a larger corporate program, "Imprimis Cares." to make "novel and customizable medicines available to physicians and patients at accessible prices." Imprimis began selling its compounded, orally taken formulations of pyrimethamine and leucovorin at for a 100 count bottle, essentially a dollar a dose.][
On November 23, 2015, Turing announced that the company would not reduce the ]list price
The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer ...
of Daraprim, but said it planned instead to negotiate volume discounts of up to 50% for hospitals. Turing issued a statement that it was not as important to cut the list price as to reduce the cost to hospitals, where most patients get their initial treatment. The company pledged that no patient needing Daraprim would ever be denied access.
Infectious disease specialists and patient advocates, including Tim Horn of the Treatment Action Group
Treatment Action Group (TAG) is a U.S.-based organization that has been prominent within the movement of HIV/AIDS activism. Being formed in 1991, it has possessed the goals of working with worldwide efforts to increase research on treatments for ...
and Carlos del Rio of the HIV Medicine Association, said Turing's actions were insufficient, given that patients initially treated for days at a hospital typically have to continue the treatment for weeks or months after leaving.
Phoenixus
After Shkreli was imprisoned, Turing changed its name to Vyera in 2017 to avoid negative publicity, and is presently named Phoenixus. In March 2019, ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' reported that Shkreli "steers his old company from prison." Using a contraband cellphone from his prison ward in Fort Dix, New Jersey, Shkreli was effectively directing the renamed firm, and was reported to have terminated the employment of executive Kevin P. Mulleady. After this news was reported in various news outlets, Shkreli was moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn in advance of a subsequent move to a federal prison in Pennsylvania. He was also facing a Bureau of Prisons investigation into his breaking federal prison rules, since federal inmates are prohibited both from running a business from prison and from possessing cell phones.
''FTC v. Vyera Pharmaceuticals''
In January 2020 the FTC filed a case against Vyera "alleging an elaborate anticompetitive scheme to preserve a monopoly for the life-saving drug, Daraprim". A settlement was reached in December 2021. According to AP News
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, the settlement "requires Vyera and Phoenixus to provide up to $40 million in relief over 10 years to consumers who allegedly were fleeced by their actions and requires them to make Daraprim available to any potential generic competitor at the cost of producing the drug." According to Law360
Law360 is a subscription-based, legal news service based in New York City. It is operated by Portfolio Media, Inc., a subsidiary of LexisNexisSabroski, Suzxanne (May 1, 2012) LexisNexis goes 360, ''Onliline'' and delivers breaking news and analys ...
, Kevin Mulleady "agreed to a seven-year ban on working for or holding more than an 8% share in most pharmaceutical companies."
KaloBios Pharmaceuticals
In November 2015, an investor group led by Shkreli acquired a majority stake in KaloBios Pharmaceuticals (), a biopharmaceutical
A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semisynthesized from biological sources. Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, t ...
company based in South San Francisco, CA. Shkreli was named CEO of the company and also planned to continue in the role of CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals. After his December 2015 arrest, KaloBios Pharmaceuticals terminated him as CEO. On December 29, 2015, KaloBios filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This followed NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
delisting its shares, and the resignation of two directors.
Gödel Systems, Inc
Shkreli founded Gödel Systems in August 2016 as "a professional software company that aims to be the leading information provider of data, workflow, and communications solutions for financial, law, and scientific professionals." By February 2017, Gödel Systems was looking to raise $1 million through a debt offering, and had raised $50,000 out of the $1 million in debt it began issuing in mid-January 2017, according to regulatory filings. Ralph Holzmann, a former senior engineer at Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, is the firm's chief technology officer.
Druglike and Martin Shkreli Inu coin
Following his release from prison, in 2022 a planned software platform named Druglike controlled by Shkreli was announced with a stated aim of supporting the development of new pharmaceutical drugs. An apparently related cryptocurrency
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It i ...
project, the Martin Shkreli Inu coin, had been launched but in August lost 90% of its value (recovering shortly afterwards to a 55% loss) after a wallet belonging to Shkreli sold its holdings . An account believed to belong to Shkreli claimed, in explanation, to have been hacked.
Testimony before Congress
Shkreli was subpoena
A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
ed to appear before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
to answer questions about the Daraprim price increase.[Carolyn Y. Johnson]
"'Pharma bro' Martin Shkreli refuses to testify at congressional hearing, calls lawmakers 'imbeciles' in tweet"
, ''The Washington Post'' (February 4, 2015). Shkreli's efforts to quash the subpoena were unsuccessful.
On February 4, 2016, Shkreli appeared before the House committee, along with Nancy Retzlaff, the Chief Commercial Officer of Turing, and Howard B. Schiller, the interim CEO of Valeant
Bausch Health Companies Inc. (formerly Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.) is a Canadian multinational specialty pharmaceutical company based in Laval, Quebec, Canada. It develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and ...
.
Accompanied by his attorney Benjamin Brafman
Benjamin Brafman (born July 21, 1948) is a prominent American criminal defense attorney and founder of the Manhattan-based firm Brafman & Associates, P.C.Amanda MayoLocal High-Profile Defense Attorney Ben Brafman: "If you do Great Work, People w ...
, Shkreli invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination
In criminal law, self-incrimination is the act of exposing oneself generally, by making a statement, "to an accusation or charge of crime; to involve oneself or another ersonin a criminal prosecution or the danger thereof". (Self-incrimination ...
in response to every question from committee members except for two: one from Rep. Trey Gowdy
Harold Watson "Trey" Gowdy III (born August 22, 1964) is an American television news personality, former politician, and former federal prosecutor who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019. His district included much of the Up ...
to confirm the pronunciation of his last name, and another from Rep. Elijah Cummings
Elijah Eugene Cummings (January 18, 1951October 17, 2019) was an American politician and civil rights advocate who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1996 until his death in 2019, when he was succeeded by his predecess ...
to affirm he was listening. Shkreli also refused to answer even seemingly trivial questions outside the subject matter of the hearing, including those pertaining to his purchase of a Wu Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
. Following Rep. Elijah Cummings’s rebuke of Shkreli, Chairman Jason Chaffetz
Jason E. Chaffetz (; born March 26, 1967) is an American retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until his resignation in 2017. He chaired the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2015 until 2017.
Ch ...
dismissed Shkreli from the hearing.
Criminal prosecution and conviction
On December 17, 2015, Shkreli was arrested by the FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
after a federal indictment
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...
in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, ...
was filed, charging him with securities fraud
Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in los ...
. The charges were filed after an investigation into his tenure at MSMB Capital Management and Retrophin. U.S. Attorney Robert Capers said, "Shkreli essentially ran his company like a Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi, the scheme leads victims to believe that profits are comin ...
where he used each subsequent company to pay off defrauded investors from the prior company."
Federal prosecutors said that Shkreli and co-defendant, Evan Greebel, "engaged in multiple schemes to ensnare investors through a web of lies and deceit." In an interview with ''The Wall Street Journal'', Shkreli said that he was targeted by law enforcement for his price hikes of the drug Daraprim
Pyrimethamine, sold under the brand name Daraprim among others, is a medication used with leucovorin (leucovorin is used to decrease side effects of pyrimethamine; it does not have intrinsic anti-parasitic activity) to treat the parasitic disea ...
and his flamboyant personality.
In early 2016, Shkreli retained criminal defense attorney Benjamin Brafman
Benjamin Brafman (born July 21, 1948) is a prominent American criminal defense attorney and founder of the Manhattan-based firm Brafman & Associates, P.C.Amanda MayoLocal High-Profile Defense Attorney Ben Brafman: "If you do Great Work, People w ...
to defend him. Due to Shkreli's notoriety and overwhelmingly negative public opinion, it was difficult to select an unbiased jury. At his 2017 trial, Shkreli said that none of his investors actually lost money (some actually turned a profit) and thus his actions did not constitute a crime. Shkreli's frequent criticisms of the federal prosecutors in New York's Eastern District, whom he called "junior varsity" compared to their counterparts in the Southern District across the East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
, both on his Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
streaming video
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
feed and in the hallways of the courthouse, led those prosecutors to request that judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto issue a gag order
A gag order (also known as a gagging order or suppression order) is an order, typically a legal order by a court or government, restricting information or comment from being made public or passed onto any unauthorized third party. The phrase may ...
to prevent what they called a "campaign of disruption". Brafman said in response that his client was responding to baiting from the media and was also suffering from extreme anxiety because of his situation. Matsumoto ordered Shkreli not to speak with reporters, either in the courthouse or its immediate vicinity.
On August 4, 2017, the trial jury found Shkreli guilty on two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and not guilty on five other counts. Shkreli said he was delighted with the outcome and described his prosecution as "a witch hunt of epic proportions".
On September 13, 2017, his bail was revoked following a Facebook post offering $5,000 for a strand of Hillary Clinton's hair which the judge perceived as solicitation
Solicitation is the act of offering, or attempting to purchase, goods and/or services. Legal status may be specific to the time or place where it occurs. The crime of "solicitation to commit a crime" occurs when a person encourages, "solicits, r ...
to assault, which is not protected under the First Amendment. Shkreli's post was preceded by others that suggested he might have plans to clone Hillary Clinton. Shkreli said that his post was satire, and his lawyer described it as tasteless but not a threat. Shkreli edited the post to add a disclaimer that it was satire, and later said he did this minutes after publication. Shkreli apologized for the post. He was sent to the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn
The Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn (MDC Brooklyn) is a United States federal administrative detention facility in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It holds male and female prisoners of all security levels. It ...
while awaiting sentencing.
On March 9, 2018, Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in federal prison. Shkreli appealed the conviction, but in 2019, an appeals court unanimously upheld the jury verdict. The original judgment remained in effect: Shkreli was required to continue to serve his 7-year sentence and forfeit more than $7.3 million in assets. The panel of judges issued the ruling just three weeks after hearing arguments in the appeal, rather than the normal period of months. The ruling was also unusually short, spanning only seven pages.
Forfeitures
On March 5, 2018, Shkreli was ordered to forfeit nearly $7.4 million in assets. The court ordered that if Shkreli had insufficient cash to fulfill the forfeiture order, his assets, including a piece of art by Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, would be sold to do so. Shkreli purchased the 31-track Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...
album ''Once Upon a Time in Shaolin
''Once Upon a Time in Shaolin'' is the seventh studio album by the American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. It was limited to a single copy sold in 2015, and is the most expensive work of music ever sold.
The album was recorded in secret over six ...
'' at an auction in 2015 for around $2 million, as well as the then-unreleased Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...
album'' Tha Carter V
''Tha Carter V'' is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on September 28, 2018, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. The album's features include Swizz Beatz, Kendrick Lamar, Sosamann, Lil Wayne's d ...
''. In April 2018, he was ordered to pay $388,000 in restitution
The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery, in which a court orders the defendant to ''give up'' their gains to the claimant. It should be contrasted with the law of compensation, the law of loss-based recovery, in which a court o ...
.
In July 2021, the United States government auctioned off the Wu-Tang Clan album bought by Shkreli for an undisclosed amount to an undisclosed buyer. Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, the acting United States Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
for the Eastern District of New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, said "Shkreli has been held accountable and paid the price for lying and stealing from investors to enrich himself", and "With today's sale of this one-of-a-kind album, his payment of the forfeiture is now complete."
Statements at sentencing
During his sentencing, Judge Kiyo Matsumoto said Shkreli seemed "genuinely remorseful", regarding his "egregious multitude of lies", but said he had "repeatedly minimized" his misconduct. Shkreli, who reportedly cried as he gave his statement to the court, stated "I was never motivated by money."
Incarceration
Shkreli was federal inmate number 87850-053 and was first held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn
The Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn (MDC Brooklyn) is a United States federal administrative detention facility in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It holds male and female prisoners of all security levels. It ...
, prior to being transferred to federal prison. On March 27, 2018, it was reported that Judge Kiyo Matsumoto agreed to recommend Shkreli serve his prison sentence at the minimum security federal camp at USP Canaan
The United States Penitentiary, Canaan (USP Canaan) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates, with a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male inmates. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of t ...
, which he had previously requested. On April 18, 2018, Shkreli was transferred from Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, to FCI Fort Dix after his request to serve at USP Canaan was denied. As of July 2020, Shkreli was serving his sentence at FCC Allenwood.
On September 6, 2019, several media outlets reported that Shkreli had leveled a lawsuit in a Brooklyn court claiming he had been fraudulently persuaded by a former investor in his Elea Capital fund to sign a promissory note that "left him owing $420,000 to the man’s father." Also in 2019, he was transferred to solitary confinement for a time, after prison authorities discovered he was using a contraband smartphone to conduct business from prison.
Shkreli made a request for compassionate release on April 22, 2020.[ In his request, he said he should be allowed to live at his then fiancée's apartment in ]New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Her name was redacted from the copies released to the press but she later identified herself as former Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to:
People
* Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer
* Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian
* Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...
reporter Christie Smythe.[ His request also stated his firm needed him to develop a remedy for ]COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.[ In denying the request, Judge Matsumoto characterized Shkreli's request as an instance of "delusional self-aggrandizing behavior."]
On May 18, 2022, Shkreli was released from prison. This decision was made after he completed "all programmes that allowed for his prison sentence to be shortened", according to Shkreli's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman
Benjamin Brafman (born July 21, 1948) is a prominent American criminal defense attorney and founder of the Manhattan-based firm Brafman & Associates, P.C.Amanda MayoLocal High-Profile Defense Attorney Ben Brafman: "If you do Great Work, People w ...
. He was moved to a halfway house
A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use disorder problems to learn (or relearn) the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves.
As well as serving as a ...
where he would reside until September 2022.[
]
Civil penalties
In December 2016, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (NYSDTF) is the department of the New York state government responsible for taxation and revenue, including handling all tax forms and publications, and dispersing tax revenue to other agencie ...
issued a tax warrant for $1.26 million for unpaid taxes owed by Shkreli. After Shkreli made partial payments, the state recouped another $134,500 from Shkreli by seizing and auctioning off an Enigma machine for $65,000, a manuscript signed by Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
, a letter from Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
, and another letter written by English mathematician and writer Ada Lovelace
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (''née'' Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852) was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the A ...
.
On April 23, 2018, it was reported that in court filings New York's attorney general had asked Judge Matsumoto for priority on more than $480,000 in court-ordered forfeitures, to recover additional unpaid taxes and penalties owed to the state, over the federal government's claims for Shkreli's forfeited assets. Prior to Shkreli's conviction, the state of New York had been aggressively attempting to collect the tax debts from Shkreli and had already seized and auctioned off several items including the rare Nazi Enigma code machine.
At the same time, the Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
announced that Shkreli had agreed to an order that would bar him from the securities industry
A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any f ...
in order to settle a pending SEC administrative action against him; however, Shkreli is eligible to apply for readmission to the industry subject to applicable laws and regulations governing the process.
The Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
and seven states—California, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia—filed a civil lawsuit against Shkreli. In the lawsuit, Judge Denise Cote
Denise Louise Cote (born October 13, 1946) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Early life and education
Cote was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She received a Bache ...
of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order on January 14, 2022, that directed Shkreli to return $64.6 million in wrongfully obtained profits (disgorgement
Disgorgement is defined by ''Black's Law Dictionary'' as "the act of giving up something (such as profits illegally obtained) on demand or by legal compulsion."
Overview
Disgorgement is a remedy or penalty used in US securities law. For exampl ...
); the money is to be distributed to victims nationwide (via the states that were plaintiffs in the case). The court found that Shkreli had violated federal and state law through an anticompetitive scheme to delay "the entry of generic competition for at least eighteen months" and banned Shkreli from the pharmaceutical industry for life. On February 23, 2022, U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ordered Shkreli to pay a $1.39 million fine for violating securities laws between 2009 and 2014 and banned from serving as an officer or a director of any publicly traded company for life.
Net worth
In January 2016, ''Fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'' estimated the then-32-year-old Shkreli's net worth was at least $45 million but later updated its profile to reflect that this article was published the value of Shkreli's E*Trade account had dropped by more than $40 million." Shkreli leveraged a $4 million E-Trade
E-Trade Financial Corporation (stylized as E*TRADE) is a financial services subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, which offers an electronic trading platform to trade financial assets. The company receives revenue from interest income on margin balanc ...
account for his bail.
In June 2017, Reuters reported that Shkreli had reported his net worth at $70 million after being arrested in 2015 and that his attorney Benjamin Brafman, in a hearing before Judge Kiyo Matsumoto, had conceded that his client still owned shares of Turing Pharmaceuticals worth between $30 and $50 million.
Personal life
In March 2015, Hunter College High School announced that Shkreli had donated $1 million, which was the largest donation in the school's history.
In December 2020, it was reported that Shkreli was in a relationship with Christie Smythe, a former reporter for Bloomberg News who broke the news of Shkreli's arrest in 2015. Smythe described their relationship as being "life partners". In October 2021, Smythe said the two had broken up but remained friends.
Hobbies and interests
Shkreli, an avid ''League of Legends
''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...
'' player, began expressing interest in purchasing an eSports
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...
team in May 2014. Enemy eSports rejected a US$1.2 million offer from Shkreli. He later founded his own team, Odyssey eSports, and aimed to qualify for the 2015 North American League of Legends Challenger Series, but the team failed. In August 2015, Odyssey merged with another team to become the organization Team Imagine, with Shkreli becoming chairman of the team. During the merger, the organization signed the '' Dota 2'' team Leviathan.
Shkreli won an auction for the Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...
album ''Once Upon a Time in Shaolin
''Once Upon a Time in Shaolin'' is the seventh studio album by the American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. It was limited to a single copy sold in 2015, and is the most expensive work of music ever sold.
The album was recorded in secret over six ...
'' after the single copy of the album was sold via Paddle8
Paddle8 was an online auction house based in New York City selling fine art including Post-War and Contemporary art, prints & multiples, photography, street art and collectibles. Paddle8's sales focus on pieces priced between $1,000 and $100,000, ...
on November 24, 2015, for US$2 million. In October 2016, Shkreli said on his Twitter account that he would release the album for free download if Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
won the 2016 US presidential election and would destroy the album if Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
won. He shared the intro and one track, the day after Trump became the president-elect.
In September 2017, Shkreli attempted to sell ''Once Upon a Time in Shaolin'' on eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
, with the winning bid passing US$1 million. He was incarcerated on unrelated fraud counts before the sale could be completed. In March 2018, following Shkreli's conviction for fraud, a federal court seized assets belonging to him worth $7.36 million, including ''Once Upon a Time in Shaolin''.
In February 2016, he announced in an offer letter $10 million to become the sole owner of Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
's album ''The Life of Pablo
''The Life of Pablo'' is the seventh studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 14, 2016, through GOOD Music and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions took place from 2013 to 2016, in It ...
''. On February 12, 2016, Shkreli increased his offer for West's ''The Life of Pablo'' from $10 million to $15 million.
Shkreli was formerly a benefactor of Collect Records, a record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
run by musician Geoff Rickly
Geoffrey William Rickly (born March 8, 1979) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of rock band Thursday. Rickly is also a member of hardcore punk band United Nations, and the alternative rock group No Devotion w ...
, and offered to bail out rapper Bobby Shmurda
Ackquille Jean Pollard (born August 4, 1994), known professionally as Bobby Shmurda, is an American rapper. Along with Rowdy Rebel, Shmurda is considered a pioneer of Brooklyn drill music. He rose to international fame in 2014 when his song "Hot ...
; Shkreli retracted this offer after his own arrest. Shkreli was also a fan of the American rock band Brand New. When an image of Shkreli wearing a Brand New shirt circulated on the Internet, the band responded by discounting the shirt and donating all proceeds from its sales to an AIDS charity.
In February 2017, Shkreli was invited to speak at Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. The requested travel was approved by a judge.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shkreli, Martin
1983 births
2015 controversies in the United States
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American criminals
American art collectors
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American chief executives of financial services companies
American chief executives of manufacturing companies
American entertainment industry businesspeople
American financial analysts
American financial company founders
American health care chief executives
American hedge fund managers
American investors
American male criminals
American money managers
American people convicted of fraud
American people of Albanian descent
American prisoners and detainees
American technology chief executives
American technology company founders
American YouTubers
Baruch College alumni
Businesspeople from New York City
Chief executives in the pharmaceutical industry
Criminals from New York City
Esports team owners
Hunter College High School alumni
Living people
American male YouTubers
People from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn
Pricing controversies
Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government