Martin Shkreli is awaiting sentencing after being convicted on three out of eight counts of securities and wire fraud last month – charges that carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. In the meantime, with legal bills from his trial piling up, the former pharmaceutical company CEO, who was once reportedly worth as much as $100 million, has decided to sell the only available copy of “Once Upon A Time In Shaolin,” the Wu-Tang Clan album he purchased for $2 million back in 2015.
If the winner of the auction were the current highest bidder (the highest bid is $1 million), Shkreli, who has insisted during his frequent YouTube livestreams that he’s not insolvent, will still lose half of what he spent on the album. However, the auction will be live for another week. During the last 24 hours, the highest bid increased from $200,000 to $1 million. Shkreli may yet come out ahead.
Despite the flurry of interest, Shkreli said in a note published on the eBay page that he’s not selling the album because he needs the money. Instead, after publicly feuding with a member of the Wu Tang Clan following the Daraprim pricing controversy, Shkreli says he wants to find an owner for the record who has “a bigger heart for music.”
He also promised to donate half the proceeds to charity.
“This is the one and only Wu-Tang album.
I decided to purchase this album as a gift to the Wu-Tang Clan for their tremendous musical output. Instead I received scorn from at least one of their (least-intelligent) members, and the world at large failed to see my purpose of putting a serious value behind music. I will be curious to see if the world values music nearly as much as I have. I have donated to many rock bands and rappers over the years to ensure they can continue to produce their art when few others would.
At any time I may cancel this sale and I may even break this album in frustration. I will donate half of the sale proceeds to medical research. I am not selling to raise cash - my companies and I have record amounts of cash on hand. I hope someone with a bigger heart for music can be found for this one-of-a-kind piece and makes it available for the world to hear.”
Shkreli also said he would pay up to $25,000 in legal fees to make sure that the final details of the sale are mutually agreeable.
“Upon sale, I will represent & warranty any copies of the music I have will be destroyed. I have not carefully listened to the album, which is a double CD. There is also a finely crafted booklet which you can read about elsewhere. I will pay legal expenses for the buyer up to $25,000 to ensure the final purchase details are mutually agreeable.”
According to the New York Post, the album was the only copy sold by the rap group and it came with the reported rider that Shkreli not play it commercially for 88 years, though he could supposedly play it for free during parties. Shkreli has twice played tracks from the album on his livestreams. The first time was meant to celebrate Donald Trump’s election victory. He also played the album after his August conviction. Shkreli claimed he would pay up to $25,000 in legal fees related to the sale. The auction is set to last until Sept. 15.
When contacted by a NYP reporter and asked which charity he had in mind, Shkreli refused to say where he would donate the money or what he would do with the remaining cash. Instead, he “unleashed a string of expletives” before requesting to engage in a “lewd act” with the reporter.