 Like a receding tide, the pandemic exposed how Europe treats its most vulnerable citizens. During Spain's first wave, one in two COVID-19 casualties died in care homes. In Belgium, almost two-thirds. And yet, while the most vulnerable perish, the transnational industry of long-term care is allowed to reap huge profits. One can easily see why. It's a low-risk business. Subsidized by public funds and boosted by an aging population, care homes are increasingly becoming profit centers for opaque corporations, often harbored in offshore tax havens. State funds alone transfer around €220 billion to the operators of care homes in Europe every year. Look at the case of the German chain Allohheim. Private equity firms find it profitable to buy care homes. They burden them with debt before passing them on to the next buyer. This strategy has been called pure capitalism on steroids. But can profit go hand in hand with elderly care? Orpea, one of Europe's biggest long-term care providers, saw the value of its shares triple in six years. Meanwhile, a report for the Austrian government found that the conditions in an Orpea care home posed serious danger to the lives of the residents. There are similar criticisms for other companies, including Koryan, the owner of 708 care homes in five countries. Investigate Europe reporters, talk to patients' relatives, care home workers and state inspectors across the continent. Their accounts reveal a distressing pattern. Care homes cut staff and squeeze wages to boost profits and ban unions. Despite absorbing public funds, political responsibility for standards of care is weakened. Only on Care Homes' own paperwork. Matthias Gruß of the German Trade Union for Service Workers ponders, we have to decide as a society should caring for the elderly be a source of private profits.