The Secretive Family Making Billions From the Opioid Crisis

You're aware America is under siege, fighting an opioid crisis that has exploded into a public-health emergency. You've heard of OxyContin, the pain medication to which countless patients have become addicted. But do you know that the company that makes Oxy and reaps the billions of dollars in profits it generates is owned by one family? [ view in browser.   add esquire@newsletter.esquire.com to your address book ]             FOLLOW US       The Secretive Family Making Billions From the Opioid Crisis   The descendants of Mortimer and Raymond Sackler, a pair of psychiatrist brothers from Brooklyn, are members of a billionaire clan with homes scattered across Connecticut, London, Utah, Gstaad, the Hamptons, and, especially, New York City. It was not until 2015 that they were noticed by Forbes, which added them to the list of America's richest families. The magazine pegged their wealth, shared among twenty heirs, at a conservative $14 billion. (Descendants of Arthur Sackler, Mortimer and Raymond's older brother, split off decades ago and are mere multi-millionaires.) To a remarkable degree, those who share in the billions appear to have abided by an oath of omertà: Never comment publicly on the source of the family's wealth. That may be because the greatest part of that $14 billion fortune tallied by Forbes came from OxyContin, the narcotic painkiller regarded by many public-health experts as among the most dangerous products ever sold on a mass scale. READ MORE       Cranston Comes Alive   The 61-year-old actor gives a master class on the fine arts of paying your dues—and making the most of your later-in-life big break. Read On         The Best New Restaurants in America 2017   Right now, we just want to break bread with good friends. We don't want gimmicks or concepts. And we don't want to be rushed. What we want is to be transported. And yes, of course we want another great bottle of wine. Because we want to toast the return of real restaurants. Read On         The Story of the Four Men Killed in Niger Is Just Beginning   Here's what we know. Read On         Trump's Going to Release Classified JFK Files   Conspiracy theorists, rejoice. Read On         Sid Mashburn Is Launching a Collection of 10 Menswear Essentials   Our advice? Buy all of it. Read On       Unsubscribe •  Privacy Policy   esquire.com ©2017 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019