Who is Mike Milken from Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street and what is their importance?

Mike Milken is the junk bond guru of Drexel Burnham. The rapid growth and domination of mortgage bond trading by Ranieri at Salomon is paralleled by Milken's rapid growth and domination of junk bond trading at Drexel. In the early 1980s Ranieri and Milken meet on the road while they are both out looking for bond buyers. Like Lewie Ranieri with mortgage bonds, Michael Milken persuades investors that investing in junk bonds is a safe bet. Unlike Ranieri however, Michael Milken is Wharton educated and takes control of his operation by moving it to California.

Salomon is the leading bond trader and most profitable investment bank on Wall Street until 1986 when Milken's Drexel Burnham takes the lead. Milken impacts Ranieri's business by losing employees and customers to him with competitive junk bond compensation and rates. Milken has more funds than junk bonds alone can absorb so he begins to finance raids on undervalued companies. A raider, like Ron Perelman, is identified to initiate the takeover bidding of an undervalued firm that Milken can finance with junk bonds.