Michael Milken

Mike Milken joined what became investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert in 1969 and expanded the market for high-yield junk bonds.He was banned from the securities industry for life after pleading guilty to a securities fraud charge in 1990.Milken now chairs the Milken Institute think tank, which produces the annual Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles, the Davos of the West Coast.Milken has investments in private equity, hedge funds, venture capital and more than one asset management firm.Milken pledged $10 million to George Washington U in 2014 to fund public health programs. Its school of public health bears the Milken Institute name.