Convicted felon would have hosted Uhuru US conference

Mr Michael Milken, 68, engages participants in one of his conferences. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • Michael Milken, the 68-year-old host of the event that begins today in Los Angeles is also a convicted felon.
  • His case attracted wide attention at the time, with some critics depicting Mr Milken as the epitome of Wall Street greed in the 1980s.
  • During his 20-year career on Wall Street, Mr Milken became known in the media as “the junk bond king”.

The man behind the conference in the United States that President Uhuru Kenyatta decided on Friday not to attend is described on his website as a “philanthropist, financier, medical research innovator and public health advocate.”

Michael Milken, the 68-year-old host of the event that begins today in Los Angeles is also a convicted felon.

Mr Milken pleaded guilty in 1990 to six felony charges involving securities fraud and conspiracy. He paid a $200 million fine and served 22 months in prison. His case attracted wide attention at the time, with some critics depicting Mr Milken as the epitome of Wall Street greed in the 1980s.

Entering his plea in a federal courtroom 25 years ago on April 25, Mr Milken was quoted by the New York Times as declaring: “I transgressed certain of the laws and regulations that govern our industry. I was wrong in doing so and knew that at the time and I am pleading guilty.”

During his 20-year career on Wall Street, Mr Milken became known in the media as “the junk bond king”.

The term refers to bonds that carry a high risk of default but can pay higher yields than more secure bonds.

Although Mr Milken played a key role in developing a market for this type of financial instrument, his admitted offences did not involve “junk bond” trading.
Some analysts see him as a pioneer in making capital more productive.

Mr Milken’s charitable giving predates his legal troubles by several years. He co-founded a family foundation in 1982 and a few years later endowed a chair at a Harvard Medical School cancer centre.

The three-day conference taking place in Los Angeles is the 18th annual edition of a global gathering organised by the Milken Institute. It describes itself as a “non-profit, non-partisan economic think tank whose scholars lead an international dialogue on solutions in the areas of economics, health, human capital, demographics and capital markets.”

DECISION MAKERS

Milken Institute officials say the conference draws “3,500 decision makers from 50 nations.”

Rwandan President Paul Kagame is among those taking part this year.

President Kenyatta cancelled his plan to fly to Los Angeles for the conference after his initial flight bound for Dubai was forced to return to Nairobi on Thursday night, reportedly because of unsafe conditions in airspace over Yemen.

 Despite Mr Milken’s tarnished reputation, some bold-face names have not shied from taking part in the annual conference. In 2013, for example, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates both spoke along with Mr Kagame on a panel entitled “Investing in African Prosperity.”

Last year, the institute sponsored a summit in London that focused in part on investment and infrastructure development in Africa.

The meeting drew a bevy of CEOs and managing directors from the developed world’s finance and commercial sectors, with representation by firms such as Citi, Bank of America, GE and GlaxoSmithKline. Kenyan executives joined in discussions on capital formation in Africa.