The main line
‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli, a former hedge fund manager who was convicted of securities fraud in 2017 and released from prison last May, has made a major resurgence on social media in recent months, giving investment advice and asking for suggestions on his return to New York.
The infamous investor is returning from a prison sentence and is returning to social media.
Key facts
“In two weeks my ankle monitor is going to go off and I’m going to Brooklyn, Queens or Long Island,” Shkreli said in a TikTok video posted Thursday.
The former pharmaceutical executive and hedge fund manager said he was “not allowed” to live in Manhattan, which is his “first choice,” for parole reasons.
Shkreli gained the infamous nickname ‘Pharma Bro’ in 2015 when his pharmaceutical company Turing bought the antiparasitic drug Daraprim and raised the price from $13.50 per tablet to $750.
Shkreli was released in early May 2022 after four years in prison for securities fraud, but has wasted no time getting back into the world of Wall Street by interacting with retail investors online.
He’s re-emerged on social media in a big way with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Substack, Twitch, Discord and OnlyFans, content ranging from investment advice and live streaming trading to auctions of personal items.
In particular, Shkreli discusses his thoughts on meme stocks like AMC, as well as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, with retail traders from Reddit, and has even started his own trading portfolio.
Crucial quotes:
“If you live in a bright building and you want Pharma Bro there, let me know and I’ll go rent an apartment in your building,” Shkreli said on social media about his soon-to-be move to New York. “There must be wild parties… it must be a sick looking drug building.”
Main background:
Following his conviction for securities fraud in 2017, Shkreli is permanently barred from being an executive or director of a public company and has a lifetime ban from the pharmaceutical industry. A federal judge ruled earlier this year that he must pay $64.6 million in fines to states that had filed lawsuits against him over the Daraprim controversy.
Tangent:
Shkreli launched a crypto-token, the Martin Shkreli Inu, in July, which was linked to Druglike, a Web3 project he also started that same month. Pharma Bro describes the online project as a “computational chemistry software” platform that provides resources for “early-stage drug discovery projects.” However, its crypto token is only worth pennies after it plunged 90% at one point last month, which Shkreli blamed on a hack.
Further reading:
‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli is released early from prisonForbes)
‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli is fined $64.6 million and banned for life from the pharmaceutical industry (Forbes)
