Accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Luigi Mangione has become something of an American folk hero in the days since his arrest. Supporters of the alleged assassin have already amassed quite a large war chest for his defense, and many people are completely unconvinced that he needs to be behind bars at all — even if they do believe he’s the killer.
The complex reaction to Mangione’s alleged crime is bound up in many Americans’ devastatingly negative experiences of the U.S. healthcare industry, and at least in part because Mangione is both conventionally attractive and clearly intelligent, with a well-reasoned manifesto that resonates with many. When Luigi Mangione said, “frankly these parasites simply had it coming,” this is a sentiment shared by many across the country, even if they do condemn the violence.
One investigative journalist based on TikTok, user @TiffanyCianci, took a deep dive into the Mangione family history to take a look at where the family wealth comes from. She uncovered a deep connection to the healthcare industry and a purportedly neglectful family business with which Luigi was well-acquainted.
Luigi Mangione is a complex figure: Born into great wealth, he attended some of the best schools America has to offer and graduated with honors to a seemingly bright future. Except he — allegedly — threw it all away with a potentially politically-motivated assassination.
In her video exposé, Cianci looks into the history of the Mangione family and its network of elderly nursing care homes. Drawing on her personal experience in the region and publicly available records to build a picture of a highly profitable business with glaring safeguarding issues and a deep relationship with the health insurance industry, Cianci offers a look into the world that would have surrounded Luigi from a very young age. A world where the family businesses regularly wined and dined healthcare executives at lavish parties.
Prior to its removal from the platform, Luigi Mangione’s LinkedIn profile showed that he’d volunteered at his family’s businesses before — businesses which, according to Cianci’s research, had been the subject of lawsuits involving neglectful care practices and whose available data suggests a below-average level of care for facilities of that type. Cianci suggests that Luigi’s political awakening may have been, in part, due to his experiences with his family’s businesses paired with his interest in philosophy, specifically utilitarian ethics.
It’s clear that Luigi Mangione has a deep interest in philosophy thanks to his social media profiles and the manifesto found with him at his arrest. Along with the words found on the bullets used in the shooting — if Mangione was indeed the shooter — this paints a picture of someone with deep philosophical and political motivations. Cianci outlines a compelling scenario, but one which is still pure speculation.
The video is a fascinating deep dive into a family history which gives an interesting context to where Luigi Mangione came from. Many TikTok users praised the level of research and planning that went into the video, with one user commenting: “Normally this level of information takes months, if not years, to reach the public. Your work is excellent. Thank you.” One user said: “This is a Netflix mini series,” and it’s hard to disagree given the wealth of information uncovered.