Purdue Pharma and Sacklers reach new $7.4bn settlement over opioids crisis

[Bob_in_VA]

5. Question about the "settlement"

So. The family will provide $7.4 billion to settle all of the claims. Over a period of 15 years. Curious. So, how much money, invested over 15 years would yield $7.4 Billion where the annual interest is not reinvested? My "back of the envelope" says $5 billion at 10%. So the family puts $5 billion into an investment returning 10%, leaves it there for 15 years to pay off the award, then put the $5 billion back into their collective pocket. Under the circumstances, not a lot of pain to the family. Certainly, nowhere near the pain if the court ordered the family to pay up NOW. "Oh, you have to sell off assets to meet the requirement? And how many of those assets were acquired using the profits from your drug pushing? Hmmm?" "Too bad, so sad."

Next question. Over the time when Purdue was pushing this drug (does that make the Sackler family drug pushers?), how much in profits did the Sackler family receive? I suspect more than $7.4 billion.

To my way of thinking, if the fine/award isn't at least as much as the perps received in ill gotten gains, there is no incentive to not do the same or similar thing again. Let the apologists scream how that will bankrupt the company and about how "unfair" that would be to the workers when the company has to shut down. Fine. Sell the assets of the company and give the money to the workers who weren't involved in the crime. Send the C-Suite criminals to jail for a decade or so. Let's REALLY make sure that crime doesn't pay.