Mar 4, 2024
A long time ago, 33 years to be exact, Mike Milken pled guilty
to 6 counts of violations of securities laws, went to jail for 2
years, and received a lifetime ban from the securities
industry.
He was at the time the most successful and powerful man on Wall
Street and remains one of the smartest and most successful backers
of talent in finance, cancer research and education.
Most of us have formed beliefs about Mike based on accounts in the media or books written like Den of Thieves. We might think Mike was guilty of insider trading, for example.
The way we form beliefs is problematic and rooted in survival from
a time long past. We hear something and almost always immediately
believe it is true. Danny Kahneman calls that System 1
thinking.
Here’s one example. We think Mike was guilty of insider trading. In
fact, he was not. His plea of guilty did not touch insider
trading.
And another, the Attorney who aggressively pursued Mike to bring
him down and presumably catapult his own political ambitions was
none other than Rudy Giuliani, himself indicted, arrested, and
disbarred 30 years later.
Last week, Mike discussed how he emphasizes research and facts in
his work. It is System 2 thinking - that requires us to think on
our own without being infected by the beliefs of others.
So what really happened to cause us to have such negative views
about a man who has done so much for the world?
My guest on today’s show tells a very different story based on
facts from being in the room where it all happened.
Richard Sandler has been Mike Milken’s personal attorney since
1983, having joined Drexel three years before the U.S. Attorney
first subpoenaed Mike. He wrote a book last year entitled Witness
to a Prosecution – the Myth of Michael Milken that describes his
account of what happened based on the facts.
Our conversation covers Richard’s perspective on the history,
motivations, and proceedings that led to both Mike’s imprisonment
and the public perception of him that formed as a result.
I encourage you to set aside any preconceived notions you have
about Mike Milken in listening to this conversation.
Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership