Michael Milken: When Junk Was King | 157

Scamfluencers

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.1 • 7K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2025

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Michael Milken is known as the King of Junk Bonds. In the early 80s, he pioneered a novel way to finance companies that traditional investors normally wouldn’t touch. His high-risk, high-reward investing strategy upended decades of Wall Street norms. And it made celebrities out of Michael and the corporate raiders he funded, like T. Boone Pickens, Rupert Murdoch, and Carl Icahn. Michael did make it possible for smaller companies to access capital. But he did it by breaking norms, ethical codes, and financial regulations in order to manipulate the system at every turn. Though, when stock brokers turn into snitches, even his billions can’t protect him.

Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter

Listen to Scamfluencers on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/scamfluencers/ now.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, scam influencers fans, Sachi here.
0:02.2	If you live for the outrageous stories and unbelievable cons that we cover, you need Wendry Plus.
0:07.2	It's like sitting in the room with us as we unravel every twist.
0:10.5	Add free a week ahead of everyone else and packed with exclusive content you won't hear anywhere else.
0:16.1	Start your free trial in the Wendry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify now.
0:32.3	Sachi, we've been doing this show for years now, and I have to ask, do you feel any closer to understanding how the stock market works at all? No. No, I think I understand it less.
0:38.9	I'm further from understanding it, I think.
0:42.1	Now more than ever.
0:43.2	Yeah, it's like two steps forward, three steps back.
0:46.7	But today is our lucky day because we have another story about an investor gone wrong.
0:52.9	But this one is maybe the biggest doozy of them all.
0:56.5	Michael Milken used a unique take on bond investing to become a self-made billionaire in the 80s.
1:02.7	He seemed to be ushering in a new era for finance in America where more people had access to cash.
1:09.2	But this did not end up being a Robin Hood scenario.
1:13.0	I'm going to tell you how Michael made a mint
1:15.3	and left behind the financial healthcape
1:17.4	we're all living in today.
1:22.9	It's Memorial Day weekend in 1978
1:25.6	and the Atlantic City boardwalk is packed.
1:29.1	New Jersey recently voted to legalize gambling, and the first casino in the city is celebrating its grand opening.
1:36.5	Steve Wynn is especially excited about this.
1:39.8	He's in his mid-30s with a full head of dark hair, a deep tan, and an easy smile.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 27 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.