AP Exclusive: Colleges got $60M-plus from OxyContin family

BOSTON (AP) — Prestigious universities around the world have accepted at least $60 million from the family that owns OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma over the past five years.

That’s according to financial records reviewed by The Associated Press.

Schools have accepted the donations even as the company has become embroiled in lawsuits over its role in the opioid epidemic. Major beneficiaries of the Sackler family include the University of Oxford in England and Rockefeller, Cornell and Columbia universities in New York.

In total, at least two dozen universities have received gifts from the family since 2013. The gifts ranged from $25,000 to more than $10 million.

Some skeptics see the donations as an attempt to salvage the family’s reputation and want to see the money returned.