Net Worth: $4.1B

LAST YEAR: $4 B
CHANGE: 2.5%
AGE: 76
RESIDENCE: Encino
SOURCE OF WEALTH: Investments

THE MONEY: Milken has investments in private equity, hedge funds, venture capital and more than one asset-management firm. He chairs the Milken Institute think tank, which produces the annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, also dubbed Davos West. Milken, who is the mind behind high-yield debt, has been a heavy backer of medical research, public health initiatives and education. Milken and his son, Gregory, a managing partner in Santa Monica-based private equity firm March Capital, are investors in the esports company Immortals Gaming Club, valued at $100 million in 2018, which acquired Infinite Esports in 2019 in the industry’s first $100 million deal. Milken also has deep ties to Santa Monica-based Stone Canyon Industries, which has been an active player in buying industrial packaging and container makers. Some of Milken’s net worth stems from his investment in Kite Pharma, a Santa Monica biotech firm that sold for $12 billion to Gilead Sciences in 2017. Milken’s early-childhood education business, Knowledge Universe, sold its Knowledge Schools subsidiary in 2015 for $1.3 billion while retaining its real estate holdings.

THE BUZZ: Among many other programs, the Milken Institute has led the charge against Covid-19, working to facilitate research and the public health response by leaders from business, academia, government and the nonprofit sectors. Its latest focus is on vaccine distribution and preparation for the next pandemic. Work is on schedule for the opening next year of the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream in Washington, D.C., which will promote equal access to education, job training, financing and health care.