[I know how busy you Calvinist workaholics are, counsellor, so I won't waste more of your billable time than necessary. I will simply note that the party below is *my* idea of a free-rider. If this guy profiteering from other people's misery isn't a social parasite I don't know who would qualify.]
Making a Fortune by Wagering That Drug Prices Tend to Rise
By STEPHANIE SAUL Published: January 26, 2005
Stewart Rahr's new $45 million East Hampton estate, the most expensive house ever purchased in New York State, is just across the pond from Steven Spielberg's. Mr. Rahr plays golf with Donald Trump and practices putting on an indoor green in the basement of his warehouse in Queens. He and his wife, Carol, last drew attention in 2003 when they bought four works of art, including a Renoir and a Picasso, in one sitting at Sotheby's.
But as he becomes increasingly visible as one of New York's wealthiest men, Mr. Rahr, a 58-year-old law school dropout, is girding himself for the elimination of the system that helped generate his fortune. His success offers a rare glimpse into a lucrative but little-known corner of the pharmaceutical industry - the once-mundane business of delivering drugs from manufacturers to pharmacies.
Over the last 20 years, the packing and shipping of drugs evolved into a game of arbitrage, called speculative buying, with distributors like Mr. Rahr wagering on drug price increases.
This common industry practice seems more fitting to a casino than a distribution warehouse. And in the 1990's and the early years of this decade, with prices far outstripping inflation, it was a sure bet....
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/26/business/26rahr.html>
Carl