Patrick Radden Keefe

Journalist & writer

Few stories have as much drama as Empire of Pain, Keefe’s 2021 exposé of how the Sackler family made billions through selling first Valium and then damaging opioids. In this prize-winning book, the journalist revealed that the Sacklers, known for their philanthropy, raked in $13bn through Purdue Pharma’s aggressive marketing of OxyContin, a drug which contributed to the opioid crisis that’s claimed 500,000 lives in the US. In March, the British Museum was the latest cultural institution to cut ties with the Sacklers. Keefe’s new collection, Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks, was released in June.