Gary K. Michelson
| Gary K. Michelson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 14, 1949 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Residence | Los Angeles, CA |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | B.A. Temple University M.D. Hahnemann Medical College |
| Occupation | Medical device inventor / Philanthropist / Board Certified Spinal Surgeon |
| Net worth |
 US $ 1.7 billion (December 2017) |
| Spouse(s) | Alya Michelson |
| Children | 3 |
Gary K. Michelson (born January 14, 1949) is an American board certified orthopedic spinal surgeon, inventor, and philanthropist.
One of four boys, Michelson was raised by his mother and grandmother. Witnessing the effects of his grandmother's spinal deformity as a boy motivated him to pursue medicine as a career, with a specialty in spine problems. He attended Central High School of Philadelphia, Temple University and Hahnemann Medical College. He completed his medical residency in orthopedic surgery at Hahnemann Medical Hospital, before completing fellowship training in spinal surgery at St. Luke’s Medical Center in a joint program between Baylor University and the University of Texas. He was a practicing spinal surgeon for over 25 years before retiring from private practice to focus on philanthropy. He amassed over 100 research papers and publications to his credit.
He is of Jewish heritage.
Unhappy with the low success rates associated with spinal surgery procedures at the beginning of his career, he developed new technology in response, creating implants, instruments and procedures that would enable spinal surgeons to manage more spinal ailments. Implanted globally in millions of patients, "Michelson Devices" have made spinal surgery far more effective and reliable while decreasing the blood loss, incision size, risks and complications, hospital stay and overall costs compared to earlier procedures. He has over 340 U.S. Patents on instruments, methods and devices for advances in spinal and orthopedic surgery and over 950 issued or pending patents worldwide for instruments, operative procedures, and medical devices related to the treatment of spinal disorders.
In 2005, Michelson sold many of his spine related patents to Medtronic for over $1 billion, placing him on the Forbes 400 list where he has since remained. A legal battle with Medtronic over the origins of the patents preceded the sale. Michelson successfully cross-filed in response to Medtronic's suit against him. His defense against Medtronic's suit established a major legal precedent in 2004, governing who bears the cost of pre-trial discovery of electronic evidence.
Michelson announced his intent to launch a medical philanthropic venture in a 2005 New York Times article, at that time planning to apply at least $200 million to explore and scale leading edge medical technology, like nanotechnology and stem cell research. Founded in 1995, The Gary Karlin Michelson, M.D. Charitable Foundation, Inc. was rechristened the Michelson Medical Research Foundation in 2005. With no paid officers and an initial contribution of $100 million later augmented by Michelson's add-on contributions, the nonprofit does not accept donations.
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