However, they only met once, at a dinner where Shkreli flashed an advanced copy of Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter V. Shkreli confirmed he knew Delvey back in 2018 in a letter to New York Magazine, writing, “Anna did seem to be a popular ‘woman about town’ who knew everyone,” and “even though I was nationally known, I felt like a computer geek next to her.”
In the article, which later became the inspiration for the miniseries, Anna’s friend Neff explained that Shkreli was introduced to her as Delvey’s “dear friend,” reports Time. In 2018, journalist Jessica Pressler published “Maybe She Had So Much Money She Just Lost Track of It” in New York Magazine, chronicling the Delvey story. In episode 5 of the series, Delvey’s friend Neff claims the two partied with one of the Culkin brothers and Martin Shkreli, the former drug company executive who r aised the price of an AIDS drug by 5,000%. The company eventually moved its headquarters, which forced Delvey to leave. However, to the dislikes of McFarland and his team, she extended her stay, and the entrepreneur failed to kick her out. As portrayed in the series, Delvey knew members of McFarland’s team and asked to stay for a few days. Delvey managed to stay in the headquarters located in Wooster Street for about four months and didn’t pay a single penny in rent, according to Page Six.