Fall from Grace: The Untold Story of Michael Milken Fenton Bailey

A VERY SYMPATHETIC PORTRAIT OF THE "JUNK BOND KING" OF THE 1990s

Author Fenton Bailey "worked at Drexel Burnham Lambert during its halcyon days and researched and edited 'Fallen Angel,' a British documentary on Michael Milken." This book was first published in 1992.

He notes, "the [corporate] raiders argued that they were the solution to the problem and not the problem. The problem was not bust up break up takeovers, the problem was 'entrenched management' and corpocrats who, had they been doing their job properly, would have seen the need to restructure and would have done it years ago." (Pg. 75)

He quotes Milken about his charitable causes, "I put in more time than any of you at the office yet I am the only representative from our department who attends these functions and helps them. We work in the community and there are those who are not as fortunate as we are. Let us show that we are interested in more than our business." (Pg. 110)

About the crime of insider trading that ultimately brought down Milken's partner Ivan Boesky, he observes, "The problem was that insider trading is one of the most ill-defined crimes on record. In fact it is not even on the statute books, since Congress has never passed a law specifically prohibiting it, much less defining it... Passing laws specifying the punishment to fit the crime, when Congress has not first defined the crime, seemed surreal... Those who dared, like the arbs, would venture into this mined no-man's land at their own risk." (Pg. 155)

He suggests that "Milken's real problems" were that "Few really believe in the American Dream of limitless success. There has to be a ceiling. It was the single most important thing in the downfall of Milken, and it was to be the focus of the Prosecutor's Ball." (Pg. 192)

He adds, "True, Milken was not in public office, nor was he in political life. But the saga had long since moved from the personal into the realms of symbol and metaphor, making Milken and his junk bonds hot political entities. Indeed, because he lacked the official stamp of public office, the venom directed against him was all the stronger. Here was someone revolutionizing finance and corporate America, an imposter acting as a shadow Secretary of the Treasury. His lack of Establishment tenure made him an easier figure to scapegoat, and they loaded him with all the baggage." (Pg. 241)

About Milken's display of emotion in the courtroom, he states, "Ridiculed as a blubber baby, I think Milken cried out of rage and frustration at the impossible position he had been put in. Used to making the terms of the deal, he had had to make a deal he detested and brand himself a felon... Used to winning, he had to admit the fact that he had lost. When he had refused to bend to the government, the government---which brooked no defiance---determined to break and humiliate him. When he cried in the courtroom Milken finally acknowledged his defeat. Milken---who may well not have committed any deliberate crimes (even the ones he confessed to)---had been broken for sinning against the social and bureaucratic order." (Pg. 244)

He concludes, "if Milken is a victim, he largely has only himself to blame... Milken, who was unacclimated to cultural norms, insensitive to political mores, and blind to media rule, utterly lacked a frame of reference when it came to understanding the consequences of his actions. Sometimes it is hard to imagine a man more uniquely unsuited to his times." (Pg. 288)

Readers wanting other sympathetic portraits can pick up 'Highly Confident: The Crime and Punishment of Michael Milken' and 'Payback: The Conspiracy to Destroy Michael Milken and His Financial Revolution'; those wanting critical perspectives might prefer 'The Predators' Ball: The Inside Story of Drexel Burnham' and the 'Rise of the Junk Bond Raiders' and 'Den of Thieves.'

Have read several books on the Junk Bond revolution, and regarding Mike Milken and this is the fairest assessment of what happened that I have yet read. I have always felt that Milken was railroaded out of his position and jailed just to satisfy some greedier people like Giuliani...who should himself have been prosecuted and heavily fined for abuse of his office - what a clown he is, and now being equally clownish with Trump - go figure. Mike, if you read this by chance, on behalf of those media bozo's who vilified you and ran you into prison, I apologize - because clearly they are totally clueless as to the financial revolution you started, and had no idea what in hell they were talking about.