Martin Shkreli's prison nickname is too vulgar for this headline
Prison has not changed Martin Shkreli one bit.
The so-called Pharma bro rose to fame after jacking up the price of an AIDS drug by 5,000 percent, then landed in prison on a securities fraud conviction in September 2017. Now, 16 months into a 7-year sentence, Shkreli is still running his business and palling around with prison friends who "affectionately call him 'asshole,'" The Wall Street Journal reports.
After his company Turing Pharmaceuticals earned international ire for doing some pretty crappy stuff, Shkreli rebranded it as "Phoenixus AG" and runs it via a contraband cell phone, "people familiar with his new life" tell the Journal. Shkreli also bypassed his ban from Twitter by using an anonymous account that was deleted Tuesday. Cell phones and running a business are banned in jail, but Shkreli still "plans to emerge from jail richer than he entered," the Journal writes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Still, not everything is fun for Shkreli. He opted out of playing guitar in a prison band because, as his prison pals "Krispy" and "D-Block" reminded him, the band members were "locked up for child molestation," the Journal notes. Prison guards also mispronounce Shkreli's last name (the "h" is silent), and he thinks it's "on purpose," an author writing about Shkreli who's visited him tells the Journal.
But seeing as Shkreli "loved the controversy" that swirled around his price-jacking scheme — as one former investor told the Journal — prison just seems like his next step in achieving long-lasting notoriety. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Why are people microdosing Ozempic?
In The Spotlight Tiny doses of the weight-loss drug can sidestep its unpleasant side effects, say influencers. But is customising the dose a good idea?
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Five festive cocktails for Christmas 2024
The Week Recommends Serve seasonal libations for an extra special gathering
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Octopuses could be the next big species after humans
UNDER THE RADAR What has eight arms, a beaked mouth, and is poised to take over the planet when we're all gone?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published