Non-profits, museums, and hedge funds: Here are the groups that have cut ties with the Sackler family over the opioid crisis

Advertisement
Non-profits, museums, and hedge funds: Here are the groups that have cut ties with the Sackler family over the opioid crisis

Mortimer and Jacqueline Sackler

Getty Images

Mortimer Sackler and Jacqueline Sackler attend the Guggenheim International Gala on November 9, 2006. Mortimer and his brother Raymond co-chaired the company that developed OxyContin.

Advertisement
  • The Sackler family amassed a $13 billion fortune from Purdue Pharma, which owns OxyContin.
  • The family has been accused of fueling the opioid epidemic because of how Purdue marketed OxyContin.
  • Many institutions including universities and hedge funds are now cutting ties with the family.
  • Read more on Business Insider.

The Sacklers, the billionaire family that controls Purdue Pharma, has been accused of fueling the opioid epidemic because of its handling of the drug OxyContin. About 2,000 lawsuits have been filed against Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers nationwide.

While the family has denied any wrongdoing, many institutions have reconsidered monetary gifts from the Sacklers. Before the lawsuits, the family cultivated a philanthropic image, giving gifts to museums and universities across the world.

Now, many of those institutions are walking back their connections with the family. In addition, funds that managed the family's fortune and nonprofits the family was involved in have taken steps to dissolve ties. Members of the Sackler family have also left board positions at a number of nonprofits.

It's reportedly taken a toll on the family, who has amassed as much as $13 billion through Purdue Pharma.

Advertisement

"This situation is destroying our work, our friendships, our reputation and our ability to function in society," wrote Jacqueline Sackler to her lawyers, advisers, and in-laws, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"And worse, it dooms my children. How is my son supposed to apply to high school in September?"

Here's a list of institutions that have distanced themselves from the family.

{{}}

1. New York Academy of Arts and Sciences

1. New York Academy of Arts and Sciences

Kathe Sackler and Mortimer D.A. Sackler, the son of the company's founder, are no longer on the board of the New York Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Academy was home to the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science.

2. The National Portrait Gallery

2. The National Portrait Gallery

London's National Portrait Gallery will not accept a pledge for $1.3 million from members of the Sackler family, saying that taking the donation would be a distraction for the museum.

Advertisement

3. Balter Capital Management

3. Balter Capital Management

A small Hedge Fund in Boston is giving back more than $90 million from the family, the Wall Street Journal reported. Brian Balter, the founder of Balter Capital Management, made the decision to return the money, which made up a majority of the fund's $150 million assets under management.

4. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

4. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art said that it would cease accepting gifts from the Sackler family, the New York Times reported. A wing of the museum bears the family name and houses the Temple of Dendur, one of the most popular attractions at the Met.

Advertisement

5. Hildene Capital Hedge Fund

5. Hildene Capital Hedge Fund

Hildene capital hedge fund forced the Sackler's to begin redeeming their investments in Hildene, the Wall Street Journal reported. The fund said that a person known to the fund had suffered an opioid-related tragedy, which led management to cut ties with the Sackler's. The fund has about $10 billion assets under management.

6. The Guggenheim Museum

6. The Guggenheim Museum

Mortimer D.A. Sackler left the board of the Guggenheim in 2018 after serving on it for nearly two decades, according to the Wall Street Journal. The museum also said that it does not plan to accept further gifts from the family

Advertisement

7. Columbia University

7. Columbia University

In February, Columbia University said that it wouldn't accept any further donations from the Sacklers. The school's Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology was funded by the family.

8. The Tate Group

8. The Tate Group

The Tate Group, which controls four museums in London including the Tate Modern, said that it would not accept further gifts from the family.

Advertisement

9. The Hastings Center

9. The Hastings Center

One of the members of the Sackler family left the board of the Hastings Center, a bioethics institute after the board discussed the opioid crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported.

10. The South London Gallery

10. The South London Gallery

The London gallery returned a £125,000 (around $165,000) gift from the family last year. The board voted to do so to protect the gallery's reputation.

Advertisement
Next StoryFloodgates, mega-shelters, and the National Guard: How Louisiana is preparing for Tropical Storm Barry