Who is Meshulam Riklis from The Predators' Ball and what is their importance?

Riklis was an Israeli immigrant who built his own empire by buying and selling companies. He controlled the Rapid-American conglomerate when he met Milken in 1970. He used one companies' assets to acquire the next company and so on, using debt in exchange for stock. Unlike Milken in the early years, Riklis would issue the bonds directly to the stockholders, a tactic that Milken would eventually adopt.