Michael Milken Net Worth

Net Worth:	$4 Billion
Date of Birth:	July 4, 1946 (78 years old)
Gender:	Male
Profession:	Entrepreneur, Businessperson, Banker, Financier
Nationality:	United States of America

What is Michael Milken’s Net Worth?

Michael Milken is an American financier and philanthropist who has a net worth of $4 billion. The creation of high-yield bonds, sometimes known as junk bonds, is credited to an investor, philanthropist, and convicted felon Michael Milken.

He was charged with 98 counts of securities fraud and racketeering in 1989. He received a final sentence of ten years in jail, which was later reduced to two years.

Early Life

Michael Milken was born on 4 July 1946 in Encino, California. Milken attended Birmingham High School, where he served as the team’s coach. He attended the University of California, Berkeley where he obtained a bachelor of science degree.

Michael Milken later graduated with an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Private Equity

Milken was able to acquire a summer position with the investment bank Drexel Harriman Ripley thanks to his Wharton professors. He was allowed a license to trade there and was given the title of director of low-grade bond research. Drexel and Burnham & Company amalgamated to establish Drexel Burnham in 1973.

Milken joined the newly established company as the head of convertibles, one of the few significant Drexel side holdovers. Then he convinced his new employer to give him permission to start a high-yield bond trading department, which quickly generated a 100% return on investment.

It was believed that Milken made $5 million as of 1976. He transferred his high-yield bond business to Los Angeles a few years later.

By the middle of the 1980s, Milken had built up an enormous network of investors in high-yield bonds, which enabled him to quickly raise significant amounts of capital. The activities of different leveraged buyout firms were also aided by his efforts to raise money.

Criminal Scandal

Since 1979, Milken has been the subject of an extensive investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission because of his well-known unethical and frequently illegal conduct in the high-yield bond division.

According to rumors, Milken had contempt for the rules and laws governing the securities industry and carelessly disregarded them in order to benefit himself and other buyers. Despite all of this, SEC investigations were stuck at the investigational stage until 1986, when stock trader Ivan Boesky admitted to securities fraud as part of a broad insider trading inquiry.

Boesky charged Milken with a variety of wrongdoings, including stock manipulation, fraud, and stock parking, in his plea agreement.

Following this, Drexel attorneys discovered malicious transactions in MacPherson Partners’ limited partnership. Milken and others committed fiduciary duty violations through this organization. In addition, a number of money managers were found guilty of bribery, which damaged Milken’s reputation with his board.

In 1988, Drexel admitted guilt on six counts of stock manipulation and parking. A federal grand jury indicted Milken on 98 charges of fraud and racketeering the following year.

Following that, he left Drexel and started his own business, International Capital Access Group. Later, in April 1990, Milken entered a plea of guilty to six counts of securities and tax offenses.

In exchange for his guilty plea, he agreed to pay $400 million in restitution to investors as well as $200 million in fines under an SEC settlement. On top of that, Milken consented to a lifelong ban from working in the securities sector. Then, he received a ten-year prison term.

His testimony against his former coworkers was corroborated, and as a result, the sentence was shortened to two years. Finally, Milken was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment.

Humanitarian Services

After Michael Milken was diagnosed of prostate cancer, he founded the Prostate Cancer Foundation to generate money for the disease’s research. The Foundation additionally collaborates with Major League Baseball’s Home Run Challenge to advance education and study.

In the weeks leading up to Father’s Day, Milken is renowned for visiting various ballparks and making appearances on baseball broadcasts.

Milken founded the Milken Family Foundation and serves as the chairman of the Milken Institute, among other charitable initiatives. He established the think tank FasterCures through the latter, which seeks to speed up the investigation of fatal diseases.

Milken has also made significant contributions to the George Washington University public health program, which bears his name.

Personal Life

Michael Milken got married to Lori Anne Hackel in 1968, and they both have three kids together. Milken is said to eat a healthy, vegetarian-like diet, which is reflected in the vegan cookbook he co-authored.

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