--- description: “$1bn here we come,” he wrote title: Martin Shkreli Planned to Make $1 Billion on Drug Price Hike image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e53bb1002f6acbc/69887bfe428a9ea035cd13c3/gettyimages-508148986.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Pharmaceuticals](/tag/pharmaceuticals/) ## Pharmaceuticals Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Martin Shkreli Planned to Make $1 Billion on Drug Price Hike by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 3, 2016 5:58 PM CUT  Martin Shkreli, former chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals LLC, arrives at federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016\. Shkreli, charged with securities fraud and called before a congressional panel, has replaced his legal team with Benjamin Brafman, the lawyer who helped get Sean "Diddy" Combs acquitted of gun and bribery charges in 2001. Martin Shkreli, former chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals LLC, arrives at federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016\. Shkreli, charged with securities fraud and called before a congressional panel, has replaced his legal team with Benjamin Brafman, the lawyer who helped get Sean "Diddy" Combs acquitted of gun and bribery charges in 2001.Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 3, 2016 5:58 PM CUT [Martin Shkreli](http://time.com/4172562/martin-shkreli-net-worth-money/ "undefined") thought buying an affordable prescription drug and jacking up the price by more than 50-fold overnight was a billion-dollar idea. “$1bn here we come,” he wrote to the board chairman of his drug company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, before the transaction. The statement was revealed as part of a congressional inquiry that has brought 25,000 pages of documents about Turing to light. The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating Shkreli’s decision to raise the price of the life-saving drug Daraprim from $13.50 per pill to $750\. “We raised the price from $1,700 per bottle to $75,000,” Shkreli wrote to a contact in August. “Should be a very handsome investment for all of us.” **Read more:** [Ivanka Trump’s 9 Rules for How to Negotiate—and Win](http://motto.time.com/4182722/ivanka-trump-negotiation-skills/ "undefined") The committee plans to hold a [hearing](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-crime-shkreli-idUSKCN0UZ2O3 "undefined") on Thursday to discuss whether Shkreli exploited a monopoly to make millions of dollars. He’s been subpoenaed to appear before the committee but has said he plans to invoke the Fifth Amendment. \[[_CNN Money_](http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/03/news/shkreli-turing-daraprim-price-house-hearing/index.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4206389/martin-shkreli-daraprim-drug-price-hike/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4206389/martin-shkreli-daraprim-drug-price-hike/"},"headline":"Martin Shkreli Planned to Make $1 Billion on Drug Price Hike","datePublished":"2016-02-03T17:58:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:43:41.330Z","description":"Congressional inquiry reveals pharma CEO's strategy for making money","url":"https://time.com/4206389/martin-shkreli-daraprim-drug-price-hike/","keywords":["Pharmaceuticals","Drugs"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e53bb1002f6acbc/69887bfe428a9ea035cd13c3/gettyimages-508148986.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e53bb1002f6acbc/69887bfe428a9ea035cd13c3/gettyimages-508148986.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Chief Executive Officer Martin Shkreli Court Appearance","caption":"Former KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Chief Executive Officer Martin Shkreli Court Appearance","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/pharmaceuticals/","name":"Pharmaceuticals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4206389/martin-shkreli-daraprim-drug-price-hike/","name":"Martin Shkreli Planned to Make $1 Billion on Drug Price Hike"}}]}] ```