Latest news with #MartinShkreli
Gizmodo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
We Finally Know How Much Martin Shkreli's Wu-Tang Album Cost
The saga of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album that Martin 'pharma bro' Shkreli bought for approximately $2 million in 2015, continues. The album, the contents of which have always been a highly guarded secret, was seized by the U.S. government in 2018 after Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud. For years, it was reported that the government had sold the album directly to PleaserDAO, a crypto collective that specializes in NFTs. However, Bloomberg now reports that this was not the case. According to new FOIA documents, the government actually sold the album off to another company before PleaserDAO acquired it in 2021. Bloomberg sued the Justice Department for more information on the heavily redacted case, and the government has finally revealed the buyer's identity. WTC Endeavours Limited, which was set up for the express purpose of purchasing the album in 2020, was incorporated in Hong Kong. The company was dissolved some two years after the album was purchased by PleaserDAO in 2023. Bloomberg writes that WTC Endeavors purchased the album from the U.S. government for $2,238,482.30, which was the amount that Shkreli owed the government at the time. PleaserDAO then subsequently procured the album through crypto payments equivalent to $4 million. 'The DOJ made it clear to my FOIA attorney that PleasrDAO wasn't connected in any way to the corporate entity or the individual who purchased the album,' Bloomberg writes. Not a whole lot of information is available about WTC Endeavors, and Leopold notes that the names of the officers affiliated with the company 'don't appear to be well known.' Shkreli, formerly the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, is best known for having bought and jacked up the price of Daraprim, an anti-parasitic drug that saves lives, by 5,000 percent. Shkreli subsequently became the face of the pharmaceutical industry's sociopathic price-gouging and has been notorious ever since. He went to prison for securities fraud in 2018. A thoroughly ridiculous individual, Shkreli subsequently managed to seduce a journalist while in prison, who left her husband for him. Since getting out of prison, Shkreli and the journalist have parted ways, and Shkreli is now thoroughly entrenched in the cryptocurrency community, which is probably where he belonged all along. Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is a 31-track album that was developed by Wu-Tang over a long period and sold with the legal stipulation that it couldn't be commercially released until the year 2103. For a majority of us peons, its contents remain a mystery, although if you get invited to the right party, you have a chance at catching some of its tracks.
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
We Finally Know How Much Martin Shkreli Charged for That Wu-Tang Clan Album
The saga of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album that Martin 'pharma bro' Shkreli bought for approximately $2 million in 2015, continues. The album's contents have always been a highly guarded secret, and it was seized by the U.S. government in 2018 after Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud. For years, it was reported that the government had sold the album directly to PleaserDAO, a crypto collective that specializes in NFTs. However, Bloomberg now reports that this was not the case. According to new FOIA documents, the government actually sold the album off to another company before PleaserDAO acquired it in 2021. Bloomberg sued the Justice Department for more information on the heavily redacted case, and the government has finally revealed the buyer's identity. WTC Endeavours Limited, which was set up for the express purpose of purchasing the album in 2020, was incorporated in Hong Kong. The company was dissolved some two years after the album was purchased by PleaserDAO in 2023. Bloomberg writes that WTC Endeavors purchased the album from the U.S. government for $2,238,482.30, which was the amount that Shkreli owed the government at the time. PleaserDAO then subsequently procured the album through crypto payments equivalent to $4 million. 'The DOJ made it clear to my FOIA attorney that PleasrDAO wasn't connected in any way to the corporate entity or the individual who purchased the album,' Bloomberg writes. Not a whole lot of information is available about WTC Endeavors, and Leopold notes that the names of the officers affiliated with the company 'don't appear to be well known.' Shkreli, formerly the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, is best known for having bought and jacked up the price of Daraprim, an anti-parasitic drug that saves lives, by 5,000 percent. Shkreli subsequently became the face of the pharmaceutical industry's sociopathic price-gouging and has been notorious ever since. He went to prison for securities fraud in 2018. A thoroughly ridiculous individual, Shkreli subsequently managed to seduce a journalist while in prison, who left her husband for him. Since getting out of prison, Shkreli and the journalist have parted ways, and Shkreli is now thoroughly entrenched in the cryptocurrency community, which is probably where he belonged all along. Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is a 31-track album that was developed by Wu-Tang over a long period and sold with the legal stipulation that it couldn't be commercially released until the year 2103. For a majority of us peons, its contents remain a mystery, although if you get invited to the right party, you have a chance at catching some of its tracks.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Bloomberg
DOJ Finally Reveals Sale Price for Seized Wu-Tang Clan Album
Welcome back to FOIA Files! This week, I'm feeling sparks of energy. The government finally disclosed to me the auction price for Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the seventh studio album by renowned hip-hop group, Wu-Tang Clan. The Justice Department seized the album in 2018 from Martin Shkreli, the notorious pharmaceutical executive and hedge fund manager who was convicted of securities fraud. The government later sold the album but kept the sale price secret. After spending more than four years trying to pry loose that detail, I just got it! Take a trip with me down the Wu-Tang rabbit hole for the whole backstory. If you're not already getting FOIA Files in your inbox, sign up here. I assume most people know the story by now. Wu-Tang Clan sold the only copy of their 31-track album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, at auction in 2015 to Shkreli for about $2 million. The album, conceived as a work of art, was pressed onto two compact discs and stored in a vault in Casablanca before it was sold. The buyer had to agree that they would not duplicate it or play it commercially for 88 years—until 2103.
CBS News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Wu-Tang Clan set to perform last NYC show as part of farewell tour
Hip-hop icons Wu-Tang Clan are playing their final shows this week as part of their farewell tour. The legendary group from Staten Island will be at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on Wednesday night for what they say will be their last hometown performance. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the concert starts at 8 p.m. The Final Chamber Tour then heads to the Prudential Center in Newark on Thursday night before the final show in Philadelphia on Friday. All of the group's surviving members have taken part in the farewell tour, along with special guest Run the Jewels. Their debut album "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" is widely considered one of the most influential hip-hop albums of all time. In more than three decades of music, they released seven studio albums. A more recent release, however, raised some eyebrows when the only copy was purchased by Martin Shkreli. The convicted pharmaceutical CEO was forced to forfeit the album "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" as part of his 2018 sentencing for securities fraud. The U.S. government sold the album in 2021 for an undisclosed amount. The rare album was created to be a piece of art, never to be released or fully heard by the public. Shkreli bought it in 2015 for more than $2 million, according to Bloomberg, and he live-streamed a portion of it in 2016 after Donald Trump won the presidential election. Wu-Tang Clan expressed their displeasure with Shkreli owning the album on multiple occasions. So is this really the end of the road for the group? As the saying goes, "Wu-Tang Forever." "I always say that hip-hop is a mountain. And I think 50 years only marks the base of the mountain. So I think we got a long way to go. And it's gonna keep evolving," founding member Robert Diggs, also known as RZA, told CBS News when hip-hop celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
IBM, Google Emerge As Top Investors In Quantum Computing With Most Patents Issued In 2025: 'Only Two Companies Seriously Investing,' Says Martin Shkreli
Many big tech companies, including startups, are foraying into the emerging field of quantum computing. Out of the 300 quantum computing patents issued in 2025, two companies have received the most. What Happened: International Business Machines Corp. and Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google appear to have made significant investments in the quantum computing space on a year-to-date basis. According to the data shared by Martin Shkreli, there was a steep drop-off in issued patents after IBM and Google, suggesting that other companies are either smaller players or not prioritizing quantum computing as heavily. IonQ Inc., D-Wave Quantum Inc., PsiQuantum, Quantinuum, and Intel Corp., followed the first two firms. Trending: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Furthermore, he highlighted that Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) also hold quantum patents, which he describes as 'big company spend.' Large corporations often invest in emerging technologies like quantum computing to hedge against future disruptions, even if they're not leading the field. Shkreli also notes that companies like Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) are working on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and quantum networking patents. QKD uses quantum mechanics to secure communications, offering theoretically unbreakable encryption. Lastly, Shkreli suggests that Microsoft Corp.'s patent output doesn't match its spending or public statements, implying they may be focusing more on development or partnerships rather than patenting their work. Why It Matters: The evolving quantum computing space relies on qubits, which, unlike classical bits in traditional computers, can superpose and entangle 0 and 1 to solve complex problems. While still in the development stage, many publicly listed firms are involved in their research and development. Here's a list of a few companies and an exchange-traded fund that tracks such YTD Performance One Year Performance International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) 28.00% 66.58% Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) -6.21% -0.43% Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) 2.27% -32.77% Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) 8.61% 40.71% Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) 12.91% 7.16% IonQ Inc (NYSE:IONQ) -7.89% 399.37% D-Wave Quantum Inc (NYSE:QBTS) 72.01% 1325.00% Rigetti Computing Inc (NASDAQ:RGTI) -37.40% 1127.45% Quantum Computing Inc (NASDAQ:QUBT) 1.12% 2864.06% Defiance Quantum ETF (NASDAQ:QTUM) 8.24% 38.92% The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, fell on Wednesday. The SPY was down 0.29% at $601.36, while the QQQ declined 0.34% to $532.41, according to Benzinga Pro data. The futures of the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq 100 indices fell on Thursday. Read Next: Are you rich? Here's what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy. If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it? Photo courtesy: JHVEPhoto / Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article IBM, Google Emerge As Top Investors In Quantum Computing With Most Patents Issued In 2025: 'Only Two Companies Seriously Investing,' Says Martin Shkreli originally appeared on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
