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"Most Hated Man In America" Martin Shkreli Spends $2 Million On Wu-Tang Clan Album
Back in September, Martin Shkreli became “the most hated man in America” when the Turing Pharma CEO moved to boost the price of a toxoplasmosis drug by 5000%.
That rather egregious example of unbridled greed immediately caused the American public as well as lawmakers in Washington to begin taking a closer look at a practice that actually happens all the time in Big Pharma even if the industry’s larger players are careful to be a bit less audacious about it than Shkreli.
Following the Turing price hike, Democrats on the House oversight committee sent a letter demanding that serial biotech rollup Valeant Pharmaceuticals provide documents explaining hefty price increases for two heart drugs. Around two months later, Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who together lead the Senate Special Committee on Aging, opened a bipartisan investigation into pharmaceutical drug pricing.
At that point, we thought Shkreli’s fifteen minutes of fame might have been up - we were wrong.
Exactly two weeks after the launch of the Senate investigation, Shkreli swooped in and bought over half of the outstanding shares of KaloBios, which at the time was was trading between $1-2/share, representing a market cap between $5 and $10 million. What happened next was the stuff of market tragicomedy legend as the E-trading Joe Campbells of the world lost a small fortune after Shkreli’s purchase sparked a relentless rally that would have been impressive enough on its own had he stopped there. But he didn’t. He then pulled the borrow and "Volkswagen-ed" some folks as we documented in a series of hilarious pieces posted late last month (see here, here, and here). Summing up:

Ok. Now, prepare yourself for something that will briefly seem like a complete non sequitur - bear with us.
Sometime in 2011, or 2012, or 2013, the Wu-Tang Clan began to record a double disc entitled “Once Upon A Time In Shaolin.”
For those unfamiliar, the Wu-Tang Clan are, well, legends in the rap industry. The group features some of the most famous names to ever touch a mic including Method Man, Raekwon, and Ghostface, all three of which are institutions to hip hop heads the world over. As a team, Wu-Tang has released multiple long plays considered classics among rap aficionados and when you count the various solo offerings from the group’s 10 members, their catalogue is unparalleled in rap’s short history.

In March of 2014, Forbes reported that “Once Upon A Time In Shaolin” would be a different type of album. The group would mint only a single copy. It would be sold for at least $1 million and would come in a series of handcrafted boxes by British-Moroccan artist Yahya, whose works have been commissioned by royal families and business leaders around the world.”







Last month, Forbes reported that the album had been sold in May to an American collector for a price tag “in the millions” which made it at least four times more expensive than “Jack White’s $300,000 purchase of a rare acetate recording of Elvis Presley’s first song.”
Now you’re probably starting to see where this is going.
According to RZA (who has always been the group's frontman if never the Clan's most famous member), the album attracted many bidders: “Private collectors, trophy hunters, millionaires, billionaires, unknown folks, publicly known folks, businesses, companies with commercial intent, young, old,” he told Bloomberg. “It varied.” Serious bidders got to hear the 13-minute highlights in private listening sessions arranged by Paddle8 (an upstart, angel investor-backed auction house) in New York.
Enter America's most hated man (via Bloomberg):
One of [the bidders] was a pharmaceutical company executive named Martin Shkreli. He’s 32 years old but seems much younger, with a tendency to fiddle with his hair and squirm in his seat like an adolescent. The son of Albanian immigrants, Shkreli grew up in what he describes as a tough part of Brooklyn’s Sheepshead Bay neighborhood. He skipped grades in school because he was so bright. Shkreli idolized scientists, but he was also a music fan. Primarily interested in rock as a teenager, he didn’t understand rap, but that changed when he read Shakespeare in high school. “You would get these rhyming couplets and soliloquies and stuff like that, but the couplets would really kind of jar you,” he says. “They would be really these big, soul-crushing moments that Shakespeare intended to stir your spirit. And in many ways, music does that.”
Shkreli was taken by the Wu-Tang song C.R.E.A.M., which stands for “Cash Rules Everything Around Me.” It includes the often-repeated phrase “Dolla dolla bill, y’all!” Shkreli turned out to be good at making dollars himself. He founded two hedge funds that shorted pharmaceutical stocks and then started his own drug company, Retrophin, earning a reputation on Wall Street as something of a boy genius. In September 2014, however, he says he was “asked to leave” by the company’s board. Retrophin later alleged after an internal investigation that he’d abused his position and misused assets. Shkreli says that he didn’t do anything without the company’s approval. Retrophin and its former CEO are now facing off in court. “I was pretty pissed,” Shkreli says. “But I realized that it actually would be better for me, maybe not ego-wise, but financially. I could just sell my stock and build my own next company.”
Now that Shkreli had more money, he started collecting music-related items. He once joked on Twitter about trying to buy Katy Perry’s guitar so he could get a date with her. He purchased Kurt Cobain’s Visa card in a Paddle8 auction and occasionally produces it to get a rise out of people when it’s time to pay a check.
Shkreli heard about Once Upon a Time in Shaolin and thought it would be nice to own, too. He attended a private listening session at the Standard Hotel hosted by Paddle8 co-founder Alexander Gilkes. Shkreli, who describes himself as a bit of a recluse, recalls Gilkes telling him that if he bought the record, he would have the opportunity to rub shoulders with celebrities and rappers who would want to hear it. “Then I really became convinced that I should be the buyer,” Shkreli says. (Paddle8 declined to comment, citing their policy of client confidentiality.)
He also got to have lunch with RZA. “We didn’t have a ton in common,” Shkreli says. “I can’t say I got to know him that well, but I obviously like him.”
Yes, "obviously," but what also seems obvious is that RZA doesn't like Shkreli: "The sale of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin was agreed upon in May, well before Martin Skhreli’s [sic] business practices came to light. We decided to give a significant portion of the proceeds to charity," he told Bloomberg, in a statement.
Needless to say, Congress is not amused. “My biggest challenge today is to not lose my temper. The facts underlying this hearing are so egregious but it’s hard not to get emotional about it," Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said on Wednesday. “This is the same guy who thought it was a great idea to pay millions of dollars for the only existing album of the Wu Tang Clan," she added, incredulous.
Now, Claire, that's not true. It's not "the only existing Wu-Tang album." In fact, the Clan has sold many millions in their day:

What he bought was the only existing copy of "Once Upon A Time In Shaolin." We're sure that once the Congresswoman understands the distinction, she'll feel a lot better about the situation.
So coming full circle, we can now see why the Martin Shkrelis of the world need to raise prices by thousands of percent (in the process raising healthcare premiums for all Americans as insurers pass along the soaring cost of specialty drugs, which as we reported a few weeks back, has now surpassed the median US household income). If they didn't, how would they afford one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang albums?
But before you're too hard on Shkreli, ask yourself this: how different is this from the big pharma CEO who buys a Rolls Royce and a couple of $50 million Picassos after hiking drug prices? Why is one a titan of industry lauded by the mainstream financial news media and the other a pariah? Both are skewering Americans and getting rich at the expense of the sick. The fact that the public thinks one has better taste than the other is meaningless.
* * *
Bonus: Bloomberg's not-so-subtle tribute to deceased Wu-Tang member Ol' Dirty Bastard...

Bonus, Bonus: "Once Upon A Time In Shaolin" documentary from Forbes...
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I wonder what Tribe this Martin fellow belongs too?
Teh Wu Tang Clan ain't nothing to fuck with.
You gotta diversify yo bonds nigga!
Shkreli is forgiven. Coinhead has such great memories of abusing drugs, vandalization and robbery listening to teh Wu comin' thru as a young virtual man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmg4cH03LlM
#respect!!! Just kidding, not really.
I'm not sure why the Tylers think we actually care about this monkey parade.
#AlbanianAmericanRich
This man is a murderer who uses the state to enforce death upon the sick and the weak. He deserves death, along with all of his accomplices, both public and private.
Is he allowed to rehypothicate the disc? Can he now sell 10 copies for $1 million each to other idiots?
Did you see his interviiew where he said they still give tons of this stuff away for free to people who cant afford it and jacked the price in order to show a flaw in the industry that they ALL particiapte in? Guess not.
lost me at: "their catalogue is unparalleled in rap’s short history"
Interminable is the missing credibility word
Negro Nursery Rhymers backed by Jewish Diamond Dealers. Not music, just marketing.
Shout out to Moon Man, Triple K!
Wu-Tang Financial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmGnl7quDbY
You need to diversify your bonds, nigga! ;-)
Well, at least his ill-gotten gains are going to a good cause... /S
The Millennial Tribe.
Called #Quest.
"Can I kick it? Yes you can!"
Shkreli, part of the Ju-tang clan.
track the bloodlines of the few. I am sure this parasite appears somewhere. Likely some drunken tryst.
CD? I would have wanted vinyl but only recorded on analogue.
You audiophiles know what I'm talking about. Not that hipster shit of digitally mastered crap pressed on vinyl today.
Wax tubes are still the Amish way but we would NOT foul our minds listening to negros whining about their inherent self-actualized state.
Amen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmGnl7quDbY
usa in its bloom
This little pile of rotten shit in a suit fucks over faggots with AIDS and uses the proceeds to buy the dumbest shit imaginable. Please God, flush.
isnt it that what america is about? aids, homosexuals, and wutang clan are great exports to the rest of the world. france is buying it, germany is buying it, imf is buying it, whole europe is buying. russia was buying it but reduced its purchases about 50% for some reason... well if russia dont wont to buy it any longer japan may will do ^^
China dominates in everything now...even rap. : (
"...how different is this from the big pharma CEO who buys a Rolls Royce and a couple of $50 million Picassos after hiking drug prices?"
How different is this from a politician who buys votes and influence after hiking taxes?
"You need to diversify your bonds, nigga."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmGnl7quDbY
Beat me to it, put I snuck it in up-thread!
OMG. WTF is in the water supply? America really is finished. What a bunch of idiotic trolls we have become.
Boko Haram Clan...?
Ghostface Killah - and don't forget Dirt McGirt - God I love the Wu-Tang
"I'd sew your asshole closed, and just, just.....keep feeding you, and feeding you"
Only a matter of time Wu-tang will owe millions just like the other rich rappers
look at this search list . https://duckduckgo.com/?q=rapper+owes+millions
The owners of Hollywood did it to that stars of the 30's and 40's, and they are certainly doing it today. Advise them to spend spend spend, so they can own them. Most stars are not money savvy, they come into money, and they are easy prey to those who know how to take advantage of the innocent.
Funny, I've always read how most stars have done so well with their money. Its usally the druggies and the Alcoholics that loose it.
Cramer's progeny.
"...he didn’t understand rap, but that changed when he read Shakespeare in high school. “You would get these rhyming couplets and soliloquies and stuff like that, but the couplets would really kind of jar you,” he says. “They would be really these big, soul-crushing moments that Shakespeare intended to stir your spirit. And in many ways, music does that.”
Ok...
Incredible. And coming from such a 'bright' lad...
There was a time when one would just call 'rap music' what it was, but that was a time when common sense & reason cut through anything. Now, it's elevated to the level of Shakespeare...?
The "c" in rap is silent apparently.
There are two things about rap music that need to be recognized...
1) In a world where almost all poetry is now written in excruciatingly bad blank verse that has neither meter or rhyme, anybody who can still put "cat" and "hat" together ranks as an old school genius compared to the lily white kooks that have destroyed poetry as an art form because it is hard work doing all that shit as opposed to just mouthing baby talk and collecting your tenure.
2) Rap music was a pioneering force in calling out the state, and particularly the police arm of the state, for their crimes.
Not my cup of tea, but they are complaining about some of the same transgressions as we are. And they did so first. And made millions in the process.
Divide et Impera
Someone trying to outdo Dennis Kozlowski.
So with 9 official albums Wu has sold around 7 million copies, mostly to stoned white teenagers living in basements.
Taylor Swift sold 4.5 million of her first album and over 5 million of her second.
Yet somehow Rap is still seen as the dominant music in the USA.
I blame the glorification of the American Negro by the media.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but after Bill Clinton allowed the consolidation of the Music industry, the Hebrews bought it all up. Then they turned down the social relevance of hip hop, and turned up the violence and anti-social behavior.
America is occupied, and it ain't the Muslims we need to be scared of.
Bill Clinton was the first black president.
Some real Hip Hop still exists....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmBnvajSfWU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISGeYafLSXg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtZTK5kN6Z0
White males who listen to rap and who watch Trayvon college and pro ball are mindless idiots and white sheep.
The college alumni ones who glorify their Trayvon rapist thugs are the biggest idiots.
+10000 to you Freddie.
Wu tang built an empire and sold many more albums released under each of the 9 members names plus they had other spin offs. the Wu Tang albums were a small part of the overall picture. I don't know the numbers but I would gues that Raekwon, Method Man, and Ghostface Killah sold milions of albums each. Also, their stuff is all explicit, not for radio or main stream.
Yeah! Shows just how screwed up people are. If you're older than 10 and buy a Taylor Swift record/album you must be a zube ( a dull fruit ).
Classic psychopath, this SOB has absolutely no concern or empathy for anyone. If anyone died being unable to afford his gouging drug price I am sure they will be happy to know that he is jacking himself off to a two million dollar Wutang album. What a fekkin loser! Even Wutang is probably laughing their ass of about that shit.
I'm not familiar with any of the negroes in the woo ting clang.
Crap music. That says it all.
Shkreli is just more of the uncountable millions in the sociopathic / psychopathic political parasites & crony corporate scum.
Say what you will, that's a bold and brilliant marketing plan that goes against everything the record industry represents.
No matter what sort of cats and chainsaw noises are made.
$2,000,000 for a record...shit inflation is a bitch!!! Sneaks up on you all of a sudden.
I used to listen to Wu-tang about 20 years ago. Then, when I was around 16 or 17, I went through a protracted nervous breakdown as I realized the extent to which heavy drug use and the ghetto social environment was screwing up my life. In a fit of anger and desperation, I smashed all my hip-hop CDs. I wish I could say that was the end of my problems, but alas, there was much further to go.
Just a few months ago I went back and listened to Method Man's Tical on Youtube, an album that used to fascinate me back in the day. I'm glad I did so, because it gave me a chance to realize how much it sucked. Amature rhymes with no thought content behind them, and rather devoid of musicality. I subsequently had to put on some Wagner just to purge my mind.
I've come a long way, baby.
I won't listen to most hip-hop as a matter of principle, but if you want to hear a plain-talking rapper versify on how bad ghetto life is rather then trying to glamorize it, try Andre Nickatina, AKA Dre Dog. His song Situation Critical is one of my old-time favorites.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8X0Q6yEV4s
What ever happened to Zappa?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtk2gozGtbg
Jeru the Damaja -
The Sun Rises In The Easthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCG53XU4Cg4
check the album cover
produced 1994
Hated by CNBC, ths guy is just a little fish. More power to him.
Oddly enough, I (as an Albanian recordist) could produce this album start-to-finsh for around $1,000 in a few days.
This crap music is just a bunch of negroes rhyming to CLICKS AND BEEPS. If this shit is music then robots having sex is erotic and the sound of loose engine valves clicking in time is somehow funky and human.
Huge difference between a bunch of Kneegrows
and a group of rap-gangsta niggas
Is that you Grandma?
it is quite unfortunate that this rarest of wu tang albums has ended up in the hands of this bozo, instead of some public gallery in a museum, as would be proper for an art object of it's rarity.
can't blame shkreli for wanting it though.
Respect, it would be impossible for me to be this big of an asshole, he does it with such ease. It's fucking effortless for this guy. He probably doesn't drink enough to choke on his own vomit because he is too busy thinking up ways to be a prick.
i take it back, i was being mean, free country.
Make mine wang dang sweet poon tang, Ted Nugent $1.29 i Tunes
Oh. I seriously doubt that he is the most hated man in America. In fact, he surely is not even close.
Shkreli is a 10/10 troll.
Great way to treat your loyal fans. Yeah, you our fans made us rich, now fuck off!
Shkreli will be the king of wall street one day. All psychopaths are dangerous but albanian psychopaths are in a class of their own. You aint seen nothing yet.
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You ever notice nobody 'hums' rap music or hip hop tunes.
Not real big at wedding dances, either.
Not a lot of call for the older hits, too.
There's a reason for that…
Disposable culture.
•?•
V-V
Wu Tang Klan ain't nothin to fuck with!
he has the psychopathic stare
Yu can't blame this opportunist freak! He is a central bank construct and their poster child for easy money for financial engineering! Take a bow B Benake & Co!
So he got his start by founding two hedge funds. He's obviously very bright- nobody else would have thought of getting rich that way.
Brilliant people like that just make it look so easy.
The put all their smegma swill that their producers told them to bury on an album and hired a box guy to box it up.
We Wu Tanged a Shkreli folks.
This could go anywhere.
The guy could hold exclusive listening parties and charge losers oodles of money a pop.
The guy could announce that the WuTang album was shitty and try to destroy their career.
vampires in America now
"Most Hated Man In America" Martin Shkreli
Well, the government run media begs to differ.......They now vote Trump..........
The most hated man in my Amerika is obama. WuTang, is that a Chines orange drink knock off or a rap group? Fuck both of them, I do not like either one.
And yet they speak so highly of you.
Just downloaded it from piratebay
Yeh, you did.
maybe he did it to bring some attention to the monopolistic practices in big pharma. It certainly has had a jarring effect in gaining some political attention. who knows, if people get pissed enough, they may actually force these useless politicians tp do something.
I wish RZA had kicked that guy's scrawny ass.
I hope the stupid burns for this Tyler.
"how different is this from"
About as different as one can get. Comparing a Picasso... you should listen to some of this rap crap.
Perhaps he was thinking how the Albanian mudslime's profiteering from the sick and WASTING money are different from one another as both are disgusting acts.
Perhaps you're not aware of Wu Tang Financial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmGnl7quDbY