President and Co-Chair, Michelson Medical Research Foundation

Michelson launched the Michelson Medical Research Foundation in 1995. The orthopedic spinal surgeon holds more than 950 issued or pending medical patents. Michelson became a billionaire in 2005 thanks to a $1.35 billion settlement with medical manufacturing giant Medtronic that followed an extended legal battle over his patents. In 2014, Michelson gifted $50 million to USC to establish the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience. The center celebrated its fifth anniversary last year. 

YEARS ON THE LA500: 7