LIVING BODY SNATCHERS –
April 20, 2021 – Members of the Sackler family who own bankrupt OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma LP are worth approximately $11 billion, documents released Tuesday by a congressional committee show.
Members of the Sackler family have agreed to pay $4.28 billion over the next decade as part of a proposal for Purdue to exit bankruptcy and settle thousands of lawsuits filed by states, local governments and individuals blaming the company and its owners for helping fuel the nation’s opioid crisis.
Summaries of the family wealth, turned over to Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D., N.Y.), also were seen by Purdue’s creditors during settlement talks, according to representatives for the two branches of the company’s family owners.
A third branch of the family is no longer involved in Purdue Pharma and wasn’t included in Tuesday’s release by Rep. Maloney, who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and reform.
The documents show the Sacklers’ wealth includes more than $950 million in cash, more than $1 billion in real estate, another $1 billion in private-equity investments and $250 million in art, jewelry and other collectibles.
The family owns stakes worth more than $1 billion in international drug companies, which are expected to be sold to help pay back creditors. The documents show much of the family’s wealth is held in dozens of trusts.
A spokesman for the descendants of the late Mortimer Sackler said no party in the bankruptcy has challenged the accuracy or completeness of the wealth disclosure and that “we hope the focus will now be on concluding a resolution that will deliver timely resources to individuals, families and communities in need.”
A lawyer for the late Raymond Sackler side of the family said the amount of the family’s settlement offer exceeds the profits they retained from OxyContin sales. He added that the family supports the release of company documents that demonstrate Sackler family members behaved ethically and legally.
The summaries from the Mortimer and Raymond Sackler branches detail their finances as of January 2020 and last month, respectively.
