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If you like history about Wall Street powerhouse, infamous personalities, you may have read about Michael Milken, the king of junk bonds, via books like Predators Ball, Den of Thieves
For anyone interested in reading more about this person, his firm Drexel and junk bonds in general, the follow article is a good read
Twenty years ago next month Michael Milken, Drexel’s most talented and best-paid financier, who was based in Los Angeles, was sentenced to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to six counts of securities fraud. His sentence was later commuted and he was released in 1992 after serving 22 months. He was also forced to pay much of the huge bonuses he earned at Drexel in fines and settlements.
It is rare even in Hollywood to find a star that rose and fell so quickly. For much of the 1980s Drexel was the hottest firm in investment banking, thanks to its dominance of the market for high-yield corporate bonds, of which Mr Milken was king. These bonds were known as “junk” because they were ranked below investment grade by ratings agencies. Drexel used its muscle in high-yield bond trading, which Mr Milken had built up in the 1970s, to push into other areas of investment banking such as mergers and acquisitions and underwriting. By 1986 Drexel, which in its long history had not previously threatened to join the financial elite, was Wall Street’s most profitable firm.
Drexel Burnham Lambert's legacy: Stars of the junkyard | The Economist
For anyone interested in reading more about this person, his firm Drexel and junk bonds in general, the follow article is a good read
Twenty years ago next month Michael Milken, Drexel’s most talented and best-paid financier, who was based in Los Angeles, was sentenced to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to six counts of securities fraud. His sentence was later commuted and he was released in 1992 after serving 22 months. He was also forced to pay much of the huge bonuses he earned at Drexel in fines and settlements.
It is rare even in Hollywood to find a star that rose and fell so quickly. For much of the 1980s Drexel was the hottest firm in investment banking, thanks to its dominance of the market for high-yield corporate bonds, of which Mr Milken was king. These bonds were known as “junk” because they were ranked below investment grade by ratings agencies. Drexel used its muscle in high-yield bond trading, which Mr Milken had built up in the 1970s, to push into other areas of investment banking such as mergers and acquisitions and underwriting. By 1986 Drexel, which in its long history had not previously threatened to join the financial elite, was Wall Street’s most profitable firm.
Drexel Burnham Lambert's legacy: Stars of the junkyard | The Economist
