Martin Shkreli: Wall Street’s Favourite Villain
By Ben Chen
March 2025
Martin Shkreli: just the name conjures images of smirking courtroom appearances, smug livestreams, and a punchable face that even a Renaissance painter couldn’t make more insufferable. Known infamously as “Pharma Bro,” Shkreli managed to go from obscurity to public enemy number one faster than the price of Daraprim under his watch.
For those blissfully unaware, Daraprim is an essential drug used to treat life-threatening parasitic infections, particularly in immunocompromised patients like those with HIV. In 2015, Shkreli’s company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, acquired the drug and jacked up its price from $13.50 to $750 per pill—an increase so outrageous it would make even a scalper blush. His justification? “Capitalism.” His demeanor? Absolutely no remorse.
Shkreli’s actions weren’t technically illegal, but they were so cartoonishly evil that he became the living embodiment of corporate greed. His defense boiled down to the claim that insurance companies and hospitals would absorb the costs and that patients wouldn’t suffer. Spoiler alert: patients definitely suffered. But instead of apologizing or laying low, Shkreli doubled down, publicly taunting critics, mocking journalists, and basking in the glow of his newfound notoriety.
But don’t think for a second that Shkreli was a one-trick villain. No, his greatest hits include a laundry list of antics:
Harassing journalists on social media.
Buying the sole copy of Wu-Tang Clan’s album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for $2 million and threatening to destroy it.
Offering $5,000 to anyone who could grab a strand of Hillary Clinton’s hair during the 2016 election.
If his pharmaceutical price-gouging made him infamous, his penchant for trolling made him a meme. Shkreli didn’t just want to be rich; he wanted to be hated, and boy, did he succeed.
Eventually, karma came knocking; not for the Daraprim debacle, but for securities fraud related to his hedge fund days. Turns out, Shkreli had been running his finances with all the finesse of a teenager managing a lemonade stand. In 2017, he was convicted of defrauding investors and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Yet even in prison, Shkreli managed to keep himself in the spotlight. He was reportedly running his company from behind bars, sharing investment advice, and somehow still being insufferable. When he was finally released in 2022, he re-entered the world as the same unapologetic, meme-worthy figure—though notably less powerful.
Shkreli’s legacy is complicated, but one thing is clear: he showed us what happens when infinite greed, infinite ego, and a total lack of self-awareness collide. His story isn’t just about one man’s villainy; it’s a reflection of a system that allows—and sometimes rewards—such behavior.