Michael Milken
The 'Junk Bond King' who reshaped finance, faced conviction, and turned to philanthropy.
Maryland GovPics · via Wikipedia: Michael Milken · CC BY 2.0
Michael Robert Milken (born July 4, 1946) is an American financier known for developing the high-yield bond market and his subsequent felony conviction for securities law violations.[1] In 1989, a grand jury charged Milken with racketeering and securities fraud; he subsequently entered a guilty plea to lesser charges of securities and reporting violations as part of a plea bargain.[2]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Michael Robert Milken
- Born
- 4 July 1946
- Birthplace
- Encino, California, U.S.
- Education
- University of California, Berkeley (BS); University of Pennsylvania (MBA)
- Occupation
- Businessman, financier
- Known for
- Developing the high-yield bond market
- Criminal charges
- Securities and reporting violations (1989)
- Criminal penalty
- Served 22 months in prison; $600 million fine
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
Milken grew up in a middle-class Jewish family in Encino, California, graduating from Birmingham High School where he was head cheerleader.[3] He earned a BS with highest honors from UC Berkeley in 1968 and an MBA from the Wharton School.[4] Connections made through Wharton faculty helped Milken secure a summer position at Drexel Harriman Ripley in 1969; after earning his MBA, he became a full-time employee there.[5] Milken convinced his supervisor to authorize a new trading desk for high-yield bonds, which quickly generated a 100% return on the capital invested.[5]
Estimates from 1976 placed Milken's annual earnings at Drexel Burnham Lambert at roughly $5 million.[5] A 10-year prison term, a $600 million fine, and a permanent ban from the securities industry were imposed on Milken.[2] That prison term was later cut to two years; Milken ultimately spent 22 months incarcerated.[6][7] Donald Trump, as president, issued a full pardon to Milken in February 2020.[6][8]
What the cited sources add
Barbic states that one doctor recommended Milken and his wife get psychological counseling and review their estate planning.[9] Within a year of his diagnosis, Milken's cancer was in full remission and has not returned since.[9] Barbic notes that Milken began funding medical research in the 1970s when his mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer.[9] The same source states that Milken established the Milken Family Foundation with his brother Lowell in 1982.[9]
That article notes that Milken and his brother Lowell set up Knowledge Universe in 1996 with $500 million of their own money.[10]
References
- Wikipedia, "Michael Milken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Michael Milken's Guilt", The New York Times, April 26, 1990; "Milken Assigned to Bay Area Prison", The New York Times, February 22, 1991; Eichenwald, Kurt, "Wages Even Wall St. Can't Stomach", The New York Times, April 3, 1989 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Michael Milken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Michael Milken - Philanthropist, Financier, Medical Research Innovator & Public Health Advocate" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Michael Milken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Roger E. Alcaly, "The Golden Age of Junk" , New York Review of Books, May 26, 1994.; James F. Peltz, "Milken's Largess Slows Down: Donations: The junk bond king's charitable trusts have virtually stopped growing since his 1989 federal indictment; America in the 20th Century: 1980-1989, pg. 1200; Edward Jay Epstein MANHATTAN, INC: "The Secret World of Mike Milken" , September 1987.; Davis, "Hollywood's Most Secret Agent", The New York Times, July 9, 1989 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Michael Milken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "UC Berkeley Inter-Fraternity Council: Sigma Alpha Mu" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Michael Milken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kornbluth, "Highly Confident: The Crime and Punishment of Michael Milken", William Morrow and Company, 1992 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Michael Milken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Milken's Sentence Reduced by Judge; 7 Months Are Left", The New York Times, August 6, 1992 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Michael Milken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Eichenwald, "Judge Who Gave Milken 10 Years Wants Him Eligible for Parole in 3", The New York Times, February 20, 1991; Al Gini & Alexei M. Marcoux Case Studies in Business Ethics ; accessed April 24, 2018.; "Stars of the junkyard - Twenty years after Michael Milken's junk-bond firm came crashing down, the financial revolution that it fostered lives on" , economist. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Michael Milken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mangan, "Trump pardons Michael Milken, face of 1980s insider trading scandals", CNBC, February 18, 2020; Farrell, "Trump Insiders Seek Pardon for 'Junk Bond King' Michael Milken", Bloomberg.com, June 15, 2018; "Trump grants clemency to former NYPD commissioner Bernie Kerik, financier Michael Milken", The Washington Post, February 18, 2020; Baker, "Trump Commutes Corruption Sentence of Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois", The New York Times, February 18, 2020; "Milken, 'Junk Bond King,' could return to Wall St. after Trump pardon", Fox en.wikipedia.org
- Barbic, "The Accelerator", Philanthropy, Summer 2012. facts only, no text reused. philanthropyroundtable.org
- "Junk bond king Milken is back, plans to raise $1bn", The Economic Times. facts only, no text reused. economictimes.indiatimes.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Michael Milken (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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