Will Purdue’s Bankruptcy Engulf Its Owners?
The internet is making it harder to maintain the distinction between a company and the people who own it.
The internet makes it personal.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images North AmericaThe bankruptcy of Purdue Pharma LP lays bare a distinction that the internet is making it more and more difficult to maintain: that between a company and the people who own or founded it.
The Sackler family owns Purdue Pharma, the maker of the opioid OxyContin, which has contributed to a crisis that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. There are numerous charges and more than 2,000 lawsuits against the company and its owners, and some recent joint settlements. The company has now declared bankruptcy, and wants to give control of Purdue to a trust run by the states, cities and counties that have filed suit against it.