The Sackler family owns Purdue Pharma, which aggressively marketed its drug Oxycontin to doctors and patients. There are thousands of overdoses tied to Oxycontin per year. This month, 600 cities, counties, and Native American tribes filed a joint suit against Purdue Pharma. Today, the company agreed to settle a $270 million lawsuit in Oklahoma, and some museums are refusing to accept Sackler money. The Sacklers have historically donated a lot of money to museums, including the Guggenheim, the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Tate Modern. The Sacklers now say they will stop all their charitable giving.
Sackler family suspends charitable donations to art museums
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.