If Approved by Court, Sackler Family to Pay $6.5 Billion, Purdue to Pay Nearly $900 Million
Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with a bipartisan coalition of states and other parties, today announced a $7.4 billion settlement in principle with members of the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma Inc. (Purdue) over their instrumental role in creating the opioid crisis. Illinois will receive up to approximately $154 million. Purdue, under the Sacklers’ leadership, invented, manufactured and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, fueling waves of addiction and overdose deaths in Illinois and across the country.
The settlement will end the Sacklers’ control of Purdue and ability to sell opioids in the United States. Importantly, it will deliver funding directly to communities across the country over the next 15 years to support opioid addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programs. If approved, the settlement will resolve Raoul’s 2019 litigation against Purdue and individual members of the Sackler family. The $7.4 billion settlement in principle is the nation’s largest settlement to date with individuals responsible for contributing to the opioid crisis.
“My priority has long been reaching a resolution that holds the Sackler family accountable for the devastation that addiction to their opioids caused tens of thousands of other families, as well as making sure communities receive funding to address the impact of opioid addiction. This settlement has been a long time coming, as it holds the Sacklers and Purdue accountable for their role in a deadly epidemic that continues to affect the country,” Raoul said. “This settlement is the result of a bipartisan national effort, and I remain committed to ensuring funding is equitably distributed across Illinois to help fund services that mitigate opioid addiction.”
In addition to delivering $7.4 billion to address the opioid crisis, Raoul said the settlement, once approved by the court, ends the Sacklers’ control of Purdue and bars them from selling opioids in the United States. A board of trustees selected by the settlement’s participating states in consultation with the other creditors will determine the future of the company. Under the settlement, Purdue will continue to be overseen by a monitor and will be prevented from lobbying or marketing opioids.
If approved, the settlement will deliver funds to the participating states, local governments, affected individuals, and other parties who have previously sued the Sacklers or Purdue. A significant amount of the settlement funds will be distributed in the first three years, with the Sacklers paying $1.5 billion and Purdue paying nearly $900 million in the first payment. That would be followed by $500 million after one year, an additional $500 million after two years, and $400 million after three years.
If approved, Raoul said the settlement will also make public more than 30 million documents related to Purdue and the Sacklers’ opioid business. The document repository will now also contain documents relating to compliance with the 2007 State Attorneys General Consent Judgments, and after six years will make public documents subject to the waiver of privilege.
In 2021, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved a multistate settlement covering Purdue and the Sackler family that would have required them to pay more than $5.5 billion. In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the bankruptcy settlement with the Sacklers, holding that they were not entitled to a blanket or automatic shield from liability. The current settlement in principle does not offer the Sacklers any such automatic protection but rather is built on consensual releases in exchange for the payments the Sacklers will be making.
Members of the Sackler family included in the settlement in principle are the eight heirs of Purdue founders Raymond and Mortimer Sackler who served on the board of Purdue: Richard, Kathe, Mortimer Jr., Ilene, David and Theresa Sackler; and the estates of Jonathan and Beverly Sackler. In addition, their associated trusts, advisers, and most of their children and heirs are also included.
The settlement is the latest in Attorney General Raoul’s ongoing efforts to combat the opioid epidemic and hold accountable companies whose deceptive practices increased opioid prescriptions at the expense of public health. To date, national investigations and litigation against the pharmaceutical industry over the opioid crisis have led to more than $50 billion in settlements, with Illinois’ share at approximately $1.4 billion.
Attorney General Raoul urges anyone who believes they or a loved one may be addicted to opioids to seek help by calling the Illinois Helpline for Opioids and Other Substances at 833-2FINDHELP, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Joining Attorney General Raoul in securing the settlement in principle are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.
