MICHAEL MILKEN, THE MAN : A Grateful Friend Describes Him as Compassionate and Caring
His name and photo seem to be in every newspaper and on every news broadcast these days. Yet for all the thousands of words spoken and written about Michael Milken, no one has succeeded in providing an accurate picture of the man he is; lamentably, few have bothered to try.
I’ve known Mike Milken since 1982. Over the years, he has shown himself to me to be a forthright and honorable businessman and, no less important, a sensitive and compassionate human being. I am proud to call him my friend.
What angers me most is seeing this man so largely misunderstood and so harshly condemned because he challenged the system and created change in a world too often satisfied with complacency.
I believe in Milken’s integrity and his courage because I’ve seen both in action. He helped me realize a dream that began as a hideous nightmare when my daughter, then six years old, was diagnosed with bone cancer.
My first deal with Milken was completed in May, 1983, when he helped me reacquire my dialysis companies and launch my new company, Salick Health Care.
Unprecedented Venture
Less than a month later, my family and I received the devastating news of my daughter’s cancer. The enthusiasm and eagerness that goes along with the prospects of exciting new business challenges vanished.
In searching for treatment for my daughter, I traveled across this country and got a discouraging personal lesson in the woeful inadequacy of most cancer treatment centers.
Convenience to patients and their families was a low priority, treatment was available when the health-care facility decided to make it available, and most cancer care services were provided in a hospital setting with all the expense and inefficiencies associated with such care.
I realized what needed to be done before consciously making the decision to do it. There was a desperate need in this country for full-service, state-of-the-art, outpatient cancer diagnostic and treatment centers. I wanted to fulfill that need.
This was an unprecedented business venture, no one had ever tried it before. The start-up costs were staggering. After considering various sources of financing, (banks, investment bankers, a public offering, venture capital, etc.), I selected a combination leveraged buyout, merger and private placement with sophisticated investors.
When I went to Milken with my vision for what I believed had to be the future for cancer care treatment, he immediately recognized the need and believed in it. He based his decision to raise the funds for my business on my 15-year record as a doctor and my reputation as a successful businessman.
Within months of presenting my concept to him, he made it happen.
What does this say about Mike Milken? Consistent with his character, he defies convention to support what he believes in. He is not afraid of what does not exist or what flies in the face of conventional wisdom. He is challenged by the possibility of creating new ventures that fulfill a need and serve the community.
Desire to See People Succeed
The idea that business supersedes all else in his life at the cost of human relationships is absurd. When I would call to discuss our business transaction with him, he would allow me to go no further after saying hello until he found out about my daughter. (She’s now 13, and doing very well.)
When I expressed concern about potential fears of other investors if I were to be totally absorbed in a family health crisis, he would brush my concerns aside, urging me to concentrate only on my child’s health. “Nothing else,” he’d say, “is nearly as important.”
Is this a man whose vision blinds him to everything but money matters? I think not.
One of Milken’s most extraordinary characteristics is his desire to see people succeed in their field of endeavor. When asked, he lends his encouragement and guidance whether he is involved with your business or not. He takes pride in people’s accomplishment. He enjoys seeing--and helping--human potential become human accomplishment. This is a precious attribute sadly missing in many who selfishly hoard success, and all its residual benefits, for themselves.
The things I say about Milken are not speculation or hearsay or taken from third-party interviews. They are from firsthand experience with a man who deserves not ridicule and public debasement but some degree of respect and admiration for resuscitating the entrepreneurial and human spirit that should be at the heart of the American system of free enterprise.
