Sackler family
| Company type | Family, business owners |
|---|---|
| Industry | Pharmaceuticals |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Founder | Arthur, Mortimer, and Raymond Sackler |
| Headquarters | United States, United Kingdom, China |
| Products | OxyContin (via Purdue Pharma) |
| Parent | Purdue Pharma, Mundipharma |
The Sackler family is a prominent American lineage known for their ownership of the pharmaceutical firm Purdue Pharma and the subsequent establishment of Mundipharma. Purdue Pharma, alongside certain family members, has been subject to numerous legal actions due to aggressive promotion of highly addictive medications, notably OxyContin. The company has drawn intense scrutiny for its substantial contribution to the opioid epidemic in the United States. Critics have labeled them as the "most evil family in America" and "the worst drug dealers in history" because of their involvement in this public health crisis.
The Sacklers have been depicted across various media platforms, including the HBO documentary Crime of the Century, Patrick Radden Keefe’s book Empire of Pain, the 2021 Hulu miniseries Dopesick, the 2022 Oscar-nominated documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, and Netflix’s 2023 mini-series Painkiller.
History
Arthur, Mortimer, and Raymond Sackler—sons of Jewish immigrants from Galicia—were raised in Brooklyn during the 1930s. Each attended medical school and collaborated professionally at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens. They introduced pharmaceutical methods that replaced lobotomies and supported racial integration in blood banks. Arthur Sackler, often considered the family’s leading figure, pioneered medical advertising aimed at doctors. In 1952, the brothers acquired Purdue-Frederick, a modest pharmaceutical enterprise; Raymond and Mortimer oversaw daily management while Arthur focused on marketing strategies and securing endorsements from physicians. Following Arthur’s death in 1987, his estate sold his shares to his brothers, who then rebranded Purdue-Frederick as Purdue Pharma.
Oxycodone was first synthesized in 1916 by scientists Martin Freund and Edmund Speyer and later sold under the name Eukodal by Merck & Co. In 1996, Purdue Pharma introduced OxyContin, a time-release formulation of oxycodone that was aggressively marketed to healthcare professionals. This medication became central to the development of the opioid crisis.
Elizabeth Sackler, daughter of Arthur, has stated that her branch did not profit from opioid sales and has publicly criticized Arthur’s earlier marketing tactics involving non-opioid drugs.
In 2018, multiple members from the Raymond and Mortimer branches—including Richard, Theresa, Kathe, Jonathan, Mortimer, Beverly, David, and Ilene Sackler—were named defendants in lawsuits filed by several states related to their involvement in America’s opioid epidemic.
In 2012, a member of the Sackler family acquired Stargroves manor near Newbury in the United Kingdom, a property formerly owned by Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart. The family appeared on Forbes' list of America's Richest Families in 2015.
Additionally, the Sacklers control Mundipharma, a lesser-known pharmaceutical company with significant business interests in China. Bloomberg News reported in 2020 that the family engaged an investment bank to consider selling Mundipharma for an estimated value between $3 billion and $5 billion.
Genealogy
- Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg
- Arthur M. Sackler (1913–1987), married Else Finnich Jorgensen (1934; divorced), Marietta Lutze (1949; divorced), and Jillian Lesley Tully (1940–2025) from 1980 until his passing
- Children with Else Finnich Jorgensen:
- Carol Master (b. 1941)
- Elizabeth Sackler (b. 1948)
- Michael Sackler-Berner (b. 1983)
- Children with Marietta Lutze:
- Arthur Felix Sackler (b. 1950)
- Denise Marika (b. 1955)
- Children with Else Finnich Jorgensen:
- Mortimer Sackler (1916–2010), who renounced U.S. citizenship for British nationality; married Muriel Lazarus (1917–2009; divorced), Gertraud (Gheri) Wimmer (divorced), and Theresa Elizabeth Rowling (b. 1949) until his death
- Children with Muriel Lazarus:
- Ilene Sackler Lefcourt (b. 1946)
- Kathe Sackler (b. 1948)
- Robert Mortimer Sackler (1951–1975)
- Children with Gertrude Wimmer:
- Mortimer A. Sackler (b. 1971)
- Samantha Sophia Sackler Hunt (b. 1968)
- Children with Theresa Rowling:
- Marissa Sackler
- Sophie Sackler
- Michael Sackler
- Children with Muriel Lazarus:
- Raymond Sackler (1920–2017), married Beverly Feldman from 1944 until his death; Beverly passed away in 2019 at age 95
- Children:
- Richard Sackler (b. 1945), formerly married to Beth Sackler
- David Sackler (married Joss Ruggles)
- Marianna Sackler
- Jonathan Sackler (1955–2020)
- Clare Sackler
- Madeleine Sackler, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker
- Miles Sackler
- Richard Sackler (b. 1945), formerly married to Beth Sackler
- Children:
- Arthur M. Sackler (1913–1987), married Else Finnich Jorgensen (1934; divorced), Marietta Lutze (1949; divorced), and Jillian Lesley Tully (1940–2025) from 1980 until his passing
Contributions to Various Causes
The Sackler family has made significant financial contributions to numerous cultural organizations, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Guggenheim Museum. Their support also extended to academic institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, Cornell University, and the University of Oxford, although Oxford ended its association with the family in 2023. The Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, named after Arthur, Mortimer, and Raymond Sackler, had its name removed in June 2023. Likewise, the Sackler Institute of Pulmonary Pharmacology at King's College London bore the names of Mortimer and Theresa Sackler.
The family additionally financed the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Institute for Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences at Yale University. Their philanthropic reach also included contributions to the China International Culture Exchange Center (CICEC), an entity connected to China’s Ministry of State Security.
In the political arena, the Sacklers donated roughly $116,000 to Connecticut’s Democratic Party.
Efforts at Reputation Management
Due to their connection with OxyContin, the Sackler family name came under heightened examination in the late 2010s. David Crow from the Financial Times characterized the name as "tainted." In March 2019, both the National Portrait Gallery and Tate galleries declared they would no longer accept donations from the Sacklers. This decision followed protests led by photographer Nan Goldin, who threatened to cancel a retrospective if a £1 million donation from the family was accepted.
By June 2019, NYU Langone Medical Center halted acceptance of Sackler donations and renamed its Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences to the Vilcek Institute. Later that year, prominent New York cultural institutions—including the American Museum of Natural History, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Metropolitan Museum of Art—also declined future contributions from Sacklers associated with Purdue Pharma.
Elizabeth Sackler has publicly denied receiving financial gains from OxyContin sales or holdings in Purdue Pharma. Multiple sources confirm that her branch of the family is separate from Purdue Pharma and its profits. She has also expressed support for Nan Goldin’s activism.
On July 1, 2019, Nan Goldin, founder of P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), organized protests against the Sackler family at the Louvre. Demonstrators demanded removal of the Sackler name due to their ownership of Purdue Pharma and involvement in the opioid epidemic. The Louvre became the first major museum to eliminate public acknowledgments of the Sacklers that same month by covering or removing signage such as that on the Sackler Wing of Oriental Antiquities.
In December 2021, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced plans to remove the Sackler name from its galleries. Following suit, the Bodleian Library renamed its Sackler Library to the Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library.
The philanthropic efforts by the family have often been described as attempts at reputation laundering stemming from opioid-related revenues. In 2022, as part of a new masterplan developed alongside the Sackler Foundation, the British Museum removed references to Raymond and Beverly Sackler from several rooms and wings.
Opioid lawsuits
In 2019, more than 500 counties, municipalities, and Native American tribes initiated legal action in the Southern District of New York, implicating eight members of the Sackler family, including Richard and Jonathan Sackler. Additionally, states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Utah pursued litigation against the family. On a federal level, approximately 1,600 lawsuits targeted the Sacklers.
Purdue Pharma significantly contributed to the opioid epidemic through its aggressive marketing strategies during the 1990s, minimizing addiction concerns to boost prescription rates.
Towards the end of 2020, a hearing conducted by the US House Oversight Committee sharply criticized Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family for their involvement in the crisis. Legislators condemned their profit-centric tactics and failure to accept meaningful responsibility.
In March 2021, Purdue Pharma submitted a plan to dissolve itself and establish a new organization dedicated to addressing opioid-related issues. The Sackler family consented to a $4.2 billion payment spread over nine years to settle civil claims, in exchange for protection from criminal charges—a proposal opposed by 24 state attorneys general who cautioned that it could create a harmful precedent.
By July 2021, several states reached an agreement wherein Purdue Pharma did not admit liability, but the Sacklers agreed to halt opioid manufacturing and contribute billions toward addiction treatment initiatives. Purdue Pharma officially ceased operations on September 1, 2021. The Sacklers’ $4.5 billion contribution over nine years was primarily allocated for addiction recovery programs. The bankruptcy judge highlighted that the Sacklers had transferred assets overseas and expressed disappointment that the settlement amount was not higher.
On December 16, 2021, a federal judge determined that bankruptcy courts did not possess the authority to grant the Sacklers immunity from civil litigation. This ruling was later reversed on appeal but was put on hold by the U.S. Supreme Court in August 2023 ahead of oral arguments scheduled for December 2023.
On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court invalidated the settlement in a narrow 5–4 decision, rejecting the Sackler family’s immunity from lawsuits. Following this, on January 23, 2025, Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family finalized a $7.4 billion settlement with states and individual plaintiffs: $6.5 billion paid by the family over 15 years and $900 million contributed by Purdue Pharma.
Further reading
External links
- John Oliver's segment on the Sackler family, August 2021 archived at Ghostarchive.org on April 24, 2022