Martin Shkreli was born on 1st April 1983, in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York City USA, of Albanian and Croatian descent. He is an entrepreneur, probably best known as the CEO of Turning Pharmaceuticals. He became famous in 2015, when he bought the US rights to Daraprim, an essential medicine according to the World Health Organization, and raised its price from $13.50 a tablet to $750.
So just how rich is Martin Shkreli? Sources estimate Shkreli`s net worth to be over $100 million, with most of his wealth coming from the financial and pharmaceutical industries, as a hedge funds manager and later as founder of start-up companies.
Martin Shkreli Net Worth $100 Million
Martin Shkreli was born into a poor family, however, he graduated from New York’s Baruch College in 2004 with a degree in business. He had started an internship at Cramer, Berkowitz, & Co when he was only 17, and by 2006 he was able to start his own hedge fund, Elea Capital Management.
His talent for financial businesses and his success as a stock trader brought Martin Shkreli onto Forbes’ list “30 under 30. Finance”, being ranked number 23. However, his first hedge fund didn`t go well because of a lawsuit, so in 2008 Shkreli started a similar business, MSMB Capital Management, which allowed him to move to the pharmaceutical industry.
He founded the company Retrophin LLC in 2011, interested in medicines for rare diseases. A year later, the entrepreneur had to deal with accusations of using the company’s money to pay investors from his previous financial businesses, and the $65 million lawsuit forced Shkreli out of the company. In 2015, he became the founder and the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals AG, which became famous after having bought – for $55 million – the manufacturing license for Daraprim. The medicine treats Toxoplasmosis in pregnant women, new born, and persons with compromised immune systems, so the decision of raising its price made Martin Shkreli famous all over the US and transformed him in “the most hated man in America”, according to the BBC. He also holds an important part of the biotech company KaloBios.
At the end of 2015, the FBI arrested Shkreli for securities fraud. The scandal has revealed that the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals had $45 million in a brokerage account at E-Trade, and specialized magazines speculated that his net worth includes other financial accounts and assets. The entrepreneur paid a $5 million bond for his release from custody.
Martin Shkreli made himself a reputation using the social media and the media. His image of a Wall Street villain is the result of controversy, messages on Twitter, and his source of income, containing in ‘legal’ frauds, small biotech companies, and stock promoters. He quit his CEO position after his arrest.
The entrepreneur shared parts of his personal life online, but nothing about relationships. He used to post pictures and videos with him playing chess or playing the guitar. He bought a $2 million copy of the album released by the rap group Wu-Tang Clan. He also tried to purchase an e-sports team for $1.2 million, but the vendors declined his offer.
