Everyone reading the article knows the source of the fortune. The millions of people who have interacted with Sackler supported cultural institutions likely had zero idea of where the money came from, myself included.
There is definitely some tax evasion in there somewhere, plus insurance practices and all the free money seems pretty messed up but maybe not a crime. Also lots of lobbying state governments for favorable regulations.
The quote is sort of non falsifiable... It's a hidden crime we're talking about after all.
pdog|8 years ago
Roughly translated: "The secret of great unexplained fortunes is a forgotten crime, because it has been properly executed."
The quote isn't really applicable in this case. Everyone reading the article knows how the Sackler family made their money.
brucelidl|8 years ago
sumedh|8 years ago
seem_2211|8 years ago
For example, his Mobile Home Empire: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/min... empire-clayton-homes/
Berkshire Hathaway have the largest single stake in Wells Fargo: https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2017-10-03/wells-f...
And here's a charming bit about one of his Kidney related investments and some of their practices: http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/15/investing/davita-dialysis-jo...
Finally, an interesting column in the Financial Times: https://www.ft.com/content/fd27245a-9790-11e7-a652-cde3f882d...
One question stands - can you ethically deploy the amount of capital Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway have? I'm not sure.
triangleman|8 years ago
The quote is sort of non falsifiable... It's a hidden crime we're talking about after all.
valuearb|8 years ago