How the AIDS crisis helped create a multibillion-dollar death-speculation market

The AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s inadvertently spawned a multibillion-dollar market where investors purchase life insurance policies from policyholders, betting on their death to collect the payout. This practice, known as life settlements or viaticals, emerged as terminally ill AIDS patients needed immediate funds but has since evolved into a broader investment vehicle. The market now represents a significant financial sector where speculative investors profit from human mortality.