The Sackler name, synonymous with prestigious cultural institutions like the Sackler art galleries in New York and London, carries a complex legacy. While lauded for decades of generous philanthropy benefiting world-leading organizations from Yale University to the Guggenheim Museum and the Royal Academy, the source of the Sackler Family’s immense wealth remains less publicly celebrated: OxyContin. This blockbuster prescription painkiller, launched in 1996 by Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family-controlled company, has been identified as a major catalyst in the opioid crisis ravaging America. This crisis has led to over 100 deaths daily and millions grappling with addiction, sparking a wave of lawsuits alleging deceptive marketing practices regarding OxyContin’s safety.
Arthur Felix Sackler, Laurie Sackler, and Neoma Sackler attend an event in Wellington, Florida, 2017. The Sackler family faces increasing public scrutiny regarding their wealth and its origins in OxyContin sales.
The Opioid Crisis and OxyContin’s Role
The opioid crisis in America is a public health emergency, with daily overdose deaths exceeding those from car crashes and shootings combined. A significant portion of these fatalities are linked to addiction to prescription painkillers, particularly opioids like OxyContin. The crisis began in the mid-1990s when the pharmaceutical industry aggressively marketed legal narcotics, including OxyContin, for everyday pain management. Purdue Pharma promoted OxyContin, a potent, slow-release opioid, to doctors with assurances of its safety, despite its highly addictive nature, comparable to “luxury morphine.” This aggressive marketing, coupled with lax regulation, led to widespread over-prescription, transforming OxyContin from a medical treatment into a public health disaster. Efforts to curb distribution later fueled a surge in heroin use and the emergence of illicit fentanyl, further deepening the crisis. The opioid epidemic’s vast reach affects all demographics across America, highlighting its devastating impact.
Lawsuits are now targeting Purdue Pharma and potentially individual Sackler family members, aiming to pierce the corporate veil and hold them personally accountable. Litigation seeks to address what many perceive as “reputation laundering,” where philanthropic activities mask the controversial source of the family’s wealth. Ethics professor Rob Reich of Stanford University has notably criticized this practice, questioning the ethical implications of accepting donations from families whose wealth originates from products causing widespread harm.
Mike Moore, former Mississippi attorney general and a key lawyer in the litigation against Purdue and other pharmaceutical companies (collectively known as Big Pharma), emphasizes “greed” as a primary motivator. He argues that the market for OxyContin was intentionally expanded beyond appropriate medical needs to achieve blockbuster drug status, achieved through misleading information about the product’s safety and addictive potential.
OxyContin pills displayed on a pharmacy shelf. OxyContin, a prescription painkiller manufactured by Purdue Pharma, is at the center of the opioid crisis in the United States.
Purdue Pharma’s Legal Battles and Sackler Family Wealth
In 2007, Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to federal felony charges for misleading regulators, doctors, and patients about OxyContin’s addiction and abuse risks. However, Sackler family members were not individually charged. Purdue Pharma, owned by branches of the Sackler family, denies wrongdoing in the current litigation. Despite denials, there are indications of potential large-scale settlements between Big Pharma and numerous US city, county, and state authorities involved in lawsuits. Mike Moore, drawing parallels to his successes in the Big Tobacco and BP Deepwater Horizon settlements, is optimistic about securing a settlement to help address the opioid crisis’s financial burden, estimated by the CDC to exceed $78 billion annually.
The Sackler family’s wealth, estimated by Forbes to be around $14 billion, largely derives from Purdue Pharma and OxyContin sales. This fortune has fueled extensive philanthropic endeavors, prominently displaying the Sackler name at prestigious arts and academic institutions in the US and UK. However, this philanthropy is increasingly scrutinized as “reputation laundering,” a strategy to deflect from the opioid crisis controversy.
Who are the Sacklers? A Dynasty Divided
The Sackler family’s pharmaceutical empire began with three brothers: Arthur, Mortimer, and Raymond Sackler, sons of Jewish immigrants who built a company initially focused on laxatives into a pharmaceutical giant. While their philanthropy is widely recognized, the connection to OxyContin and the opioid crisis has brought intense scrutiny and internal family divisions.
Arthur Sackler, the eldest brother, died in 1987, before OxyContin’s launch. His branch of the family, led by his widow Jillian Sackler, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, maintains they have not benefited from OxyContin profits. Jillian Sackler has publicly stated her belief that Arthur would not have approved of OxyContin’s widespread sale and has called upon the other Sackler branches to take moral responsibility for the opioid crisis.
Madeleine Sackler, a filmmaker, attends a Variety event in 2017. Members of the Sackler family have diverse interests, including filmmaking and philanthropy, while facing public pressure related to their pharmaceutical wealth.
Raymond Sackler’s branch, led by his widow Beverly and sons Richard and Jonathan, has been more directly involved with Purdue Pharma. Richard and Jonathan Sackler, along with Richard’s son David, currently serve on Purdue Pharma’s board. Raymond Sackler’s family has also been active in philanthropy, including funding medical research and supporting conservative causes. Madeleine Sackler, Jonathan’s daughter, is a filmmaker who has faced questions about the ethical implications of her wealth source.
Mortimer Sackler’s family, including his widow Theresa and children, has also benefited from Purdue Pharma’s success. Mortimer Sackler’s descendants are involved in arts and science philanthropy, mirroring the family tradition. However, like other branches, they face growing pressure regarding their connection to the opioid crisis.
Growing Pressure and Calls for Accountability
Despite their philanthropic contributions, the Sackler family faces mounting public pressure and calls for accountability regarding the opioid crisis. Artist Nan Goldin, recovering from opioid addiction, has become a prominent activist, urging the Sacklers to dedicate funds to addiction treatment and rehabilitation. Critics argue that all branches of the family, including Arthur Sackler’s descendants, bear some responsibility due to the foundational marketing strategies developed by Arthur that Purdue Pharma later adapted for OxyContin.
The Serpentine Sackler Gallery in London’s Kensington Gardens. The Sackler family’s name is prominently displayed on numerous cultural institutions, but these institutions are now facing pressure to distance themselves due to the opioid crisis.
Many institutions benefiting from Sackler philanthropy have remained largely silent on the controversy. However, some, like the Serpentine Galleries, have acknowledged the Sackler Foundation’s contributions while emphasizing their commitment to public access and diverse audiences. Purdue Pharma, while expressing concern about the opioid crisis, maintains its denial of wrongdoing in the ongoing lawsuits. New York City’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and other pharmaceutical companies exemplifies the growing legal and public backlash. Purdue Pharma has taken some steps, such as reducing its sales force and ceasing direct promotion of OxyContin to healthcare professionals, but these actions have not quelled the legal challenges.
The numerous lawsuits against Purdue Pharma are consolidated before a federal judge in Ohio, indicating the scale of the legal battle. With the possibility of Purdue Pharma facing bankruptcy, the future of the Sackler family’s pharmaceutical empire and their philanthropic legacy remains uncertain. The opioid crisis has cast a long shadow over the Sackler name, forcing a reckoning with the source of their wealth and the devastating consequences of OxyContin.
The Sackler Courtyard at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The Sackler family’s philanthropy has enriched cultural landmarks, but public perception is shifting as the opioid crisis and their role in it become more widely understood.
