Martin Shkreli on Drug Price Hikes and Playing the World’s Villain
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Published 2016-01-29
In August of last year, one of his companies acquired the rights to a drug that treats an infection that effects in people with AIDS and other immunodeficiencies.
Over night, the price per pill rose by more than 5000 percent and Shkreli became the poster child for capitalistic greed.
Shkreli ran with the bad-boy image, flaunting his trollish behaviour in the media, He's not your typical pharma tycoon anyways. Over the past year he's also funded an indie record label, claimed he would bail Bobby Shmurda out of jail, and purchased the singular copy of a legendary Wu-Tang Clan album … with no immediate plans to even play it.
In December, Shkreli was indicted on securities fraud charges and is now under investigation by Congress and the Federal Trade Commission for price gouging… so his time in the spotlight is not over yet.
VICE caught up with him at his midtown apartment to meet the man behind the headlines.
READ MORE: Everything I Know About the Wu-Tang Album from Hanging Out with Martin Shkreli - bit.ly/1NFBt8p
WATCH NEXT: Inside America's For-Profit Bail System:
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All Comments (21)
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An exclusive interview with the new poster child of capitalistic greed. READ MORE: Everything I Know About the Wu-Tang Album from Hanging Out with Martin Shkreli - bit.ly/1NFBt8p
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"Do you play the Sicilian defense frequently?" I can see panties droppin.
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I feel like I'm watching an awkward first date.
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“I don’t know about wine. I don’t know about chess. I don’t know about drug companies. I don’t understand how profit curves work. Also, why can’t you just buy a drug for $100mill and give it to everyone for free?” Glad VICE sent their best.
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This woman is exactly what you’d think every Vice employee is like.
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This looks more like a really bad first date.
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seriously, anyone riding around his apartment on a mini seg grabbing a 2k bottle of Petrus is an expert troll
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He dared to touch the big companies and he paid the price. Respectable
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Shkreli: “So you play the Sicilian defense frequently?” Coffee came out my nose.
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He's so fascinating he deserved an interviewer of his intellectual level
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This kid is a movie waiting to happen.
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It seems like Vice just went to the inner city, went inside a random house and offered the rebellious teen daughter a job as an interviewer.
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This guy released an entire series on how to invest in pharmaceutical companies for free.
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Why does she look like she's about to cry every 5 sec
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yo when bro rolls up on the hoverboard tho LMAO
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I actually miss this dude. He used to live stream all the time and I’d talk to him frequently. He was an interesting guy.
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I reached out to him during a livestream, a mod gave me his email so I wrote to him and explained my skillset and disability and he immediately gave me his cell number and I am now working for his company. Has told me many times "I'm your friend, not a celebrity" and knows more about my disability than most damn doctors. This man was demonized for the most foolish things possible. Truly cares.
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The more I see of him without it being a mainstream news story, the more reasonable he seems. I don't know why I expected him to be like I heard in the media.
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low key interview. These two have got a bit of cheeky chemistry going on too
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He got knicked out of society for taking on the insurance companies. Its telling. I dont see him as a villain what so ever.
