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In 1969, Milken joined Drexel Harriman Ripley, which merged with Burnham and Company in 1973. He was immensely successful as head of the company’s non-investment-grade bond department. By 1976, Michael Milken's income was estimated at $5 million a year.
Milken’s development of the high-yield debt market in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions is said to have fueled the 1980s boom in leveraged buyouts, hostile takeovers, and corporate raids. During Milken’s time at Drexel, the company’s fees skyrocketed from $1.2 million to over $4 billion. Milken’s salary escalated as well; one year he reportedly earned in excess of $500 million.
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