DOJ Finally Reveals Sale Price for Seized Wu-Tang Clan Album
When the Justice Department sold Once Upon a Time in Shaolin it concealed the sale price citing “trade secrets.” Now, after a four year FOIA battle, the DOJ finally disclosed the price.
Custom nickel-silver box for Wu-Tang Clan's "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" album.
Source: United States Marshals Service/FOIA
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.