Milken Archive of American Jewish Music

Lowell Milken
Lowell Milken in 2009
Born	November 29, 1948 Encino, California
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley UCLA School of Law
Occupation	Businessman, philanthropist
Net worth	$1.0 billion
Family	Michael Milken (brother)
Website	http://lowellmilken.com

Lowell Milken, the younger brother of Michael Milken, is co-founder of Knowledge Universe, a provider of early childhood education (ECE). He is also the founder of the TAP System for Teacher and Student Advancement, co-founder and chairman of the Milken Family Foundation, and a former senior vice president in the junk bond trading operation of Drexel Burnham Lambert,

Over the past three decades, Lowell Milken has founded additional nonprofit organizations, including the Lowell Milken Family Foundation and the Lowell Milken Center. In 2000, he was named one of America’s most generous philanthropists by Worth Magazine.

Lowell Milken was born in Los Angeles to Bernard and Ferne Milken. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles. He attended Hesby Elementary School in Encino, Portola Junior High School in Tarzana and Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, all in the greater Los Angeles area.

Lowell Milken graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, with distinctions of Order of the Coif and UCLA Law Review. .

After graduating from UCLA Law, Lowell joined the law firm of Irell & Manella in the fall of 1973 as an associate and specialized in business and tax law in the Los Angeles-based office.

In 1979, he joined Drexel Burnham Lambert’s High Yield and Convertible Bond Department, also known as the “junk bond” department. He served as a departmental senior vice president until he resigned in 1989. His duties were reported to be “mostly administrative,” but he also provided financial analysis of companies. He was not a registered representative with any securities exchange.

In March 1989, after a long investigation of Lowell’s brother Michael Milken, the government issued a 98-count indictment of Michael Milken, who was charged with racketeering and a "long list of mail, wire and securities frauds." The indictment also named Lowell in two charges of racketeering and 11 counts of fraud. Michael Milken, in a plea bargain deal, pleaded guilty and went to prison. As part of that deal, the government dropped charges against Lowell Milken, but in March 1991, he was barred from working in the securities industry as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.