On 21st November Michael Milken, the so-called junk bond king, received a ten year prison sentence. Junk bonds are low rated, high yield and high risk investment debt. Such debt was popular in the 80s for financing the mergers and acquisition mania.

Milken had been charged with multiple accounts of fraud and racketeering, as well as other related offences. He plead guilty to six charges and agreed to pay a fine of $600 million in return for all charges being dropped against his brother. Using his brother as leverage disturbed a number of people and gained criticism from legal scholars.

Milken's sentence was later dropped to two years; he served 22 months.

Today, he is still one of the richest people in the world and a noted philanthropist.

Image: By US Government (akaka.senate.gov/ [1]) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michael_Milken_1.jpg)