Born in 1946 in Encino, California, Michael Milken graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1968, and received an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
During his early years at Drexel Burnham Lambert Milken began a high-yield bond trading department, earning an amazing 100 percent return on investment within a short time. By 1976 Milken’s income is estimated to have been $5 million annually.
By the middle of the 1980s Milken had a network of high-yield bond buyers large enough to enable him to raise large amounts of capital extremely quickly. It is accepted as factual that many leading businessmen during the 1980s owe much of their success, at least in part, to Milken’s ability to see this unique and enterprising market opportunity. One of Milken’s favorite sayings is: “There is no shortage of capital; there is only a shortage of management talent.”