| Lowell Milken | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 29, 1948 Encino, California |
| Occupation | Businessman, philanthropist [1] |
| Net worth | $1.0 billion[2] |
| Website | |
| http://mff.org/about/lmilken.taf | |
Lowell Milken is co-founder of Knowledge Universe, the largest early childhood education provider (ECE) in the world, founder of the TAP System for Teacher and Student Advancement, co-founder and chairman of the Milken Family Foundation,[3] and a former senior vice president in the junk bond trading operation of Drexel Burnham Lambert,[4] and the younger brother of Michael Milken.
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, Lowell Milken was named one of America’s most generous philanthropists by Worth Magazine.[5]
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Lowell Milken was born in Los Angeles to Bernard and Ferne Milken and grew up in the San Fernando Valley.[6] He attended Hesby Elementary School in Encino, Portola Junior High School in Tarzana and Birmingham High School in Van Nuys.[7]
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. He graduated in the top ten percent of his law school class.[8]
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 for four years.[9]
In 1979, Lowell joined Drexel Burnham Lambert’s High Yield and Convertible Bond Department, known also as “junk bond” department and 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 for Drexel.[10] He was not a registered representative with any securities exchange.
In March 1989, resulting from a long investigation of Lowell’s brother Michael Milken, which charged him with racketeering and a "long list of mail, wire and securities frauds," the government issued a 98-count indictment of Michael Milken that also named Lowell in two charges of racketeering and 11 counts of fraud.[11] Michael Milken, in a plea bargain deal, pled guilty and went to prison. As part of that deal, the Government dropped charges against Lowell Milken.[12] In March 1991, he was barred from working in the securities industry as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Critics have surmised that the government indicted Lowell in order to put pressure on Michael Milken to settle, a tactic condemned as unethical by some legal scholars. "I am troubled by - and other scholars are troubled by - the notion of putting relatives on the bargaining table," said Vivian Berger, a professor at Columbia University Law School, in a 1990 interview with the New York Times.[13] As part of the deal, the case against Lowell was dropped. In 1990 articles in the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, Lowell was characterized an “unassuming family man” being used as a “bargaining chip,” [14] indicted only to put pressure on his brother.[15]
Though never a member of either organization, Lowell was barred from working in the securities industry as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March 1991 and barred from membership on the NYSE and from employment or association with any NYSE member or member organization.[16][17] During this period, Lowell continued his longstanding and concurrent work at the Milken Family Foundation and the Lowell Milken Family Foundation.
After years in the planning stages, in 1996, Lowell co-founded Knowledge Universe with Michael Milken and Larry Ellison.[18] In 2003, Lowell Milken and Michael Milken became the sole owners of the company. In the United States, Knowledge Universe is the largest early childhood education company and operates under the KinderCare® Learning Centers, Knowledge Beginnings®, CCLC®, The Grove School®, Champions® and Cambridge Schools™ brand.[19] Internationally, Knowledge Universe oversees early childhood education, K-12 education and post-secondary education programs and is headquartered in Singapore. Lowell continues to serve as vice chairman of Knowledge Universe Education and he is Chairman of Knowledge Universe Education Holdings Inc.[20]
Lowell Milken is co-founder and chairman of the Milken Family Foundation.
First presented by Lowell Milken in 1987, the Milken Educator Awards program works with state departments of education to identify teachers, principals and education specialists who are improving student achievement, making significant contributions to a school's level of excellence and elevating the teaching profession.[21] The recipients of the Awards have no knowledge they will receive the Awards educators until the day the Award is presented. The Award carries a unrestricted financial prize of $25,000. Teacher magazine terms coined the phrase “Oscars of Teaching” when referring to the program.[22] Since 1987, the Milken Educator Awards has given $62 million to roughly 2,500 educators.[23]
In 1999, Lowell Milken founded the TAP System for Teacher and Student Advancement. TAP is a comprehensive school reform currently impacting more than 20,000 educators and 200,000 students.[24] The TAP system is based on four integrated and aligned elements: Multiple careers paths, continuous school-based professional development, instructionally-focused teacher evaluation, and performance-based compensation for educators.[25]
The Lowell Milken Center was established by Lowell Milken in 2007 in partnership with Kansas Milken Educator Norman Conard. The public nonprofit organization discovers, develops and communicates the stories of unsung heroes who have made a profound and positive difference on the course of history.[26]
In 1990, Lowell Milken founded the Milken Archive of Jewish Music, a project to preserve music of the American Jewish experience.[27]
Lowell Milken has partnered with the Prostate Cancer Foundation to present the Lowell Milken Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award[28] to scientists for work in the field of prostate cancer.
Lowell Milken established the Lowell Milken Family Foundation in 1986 to support and provide funding for organizations and initiatives that strengthen communities through education and life-long learning.[29]
Lowell was honored as UCLA Law 2009 Alumnus of the year for his accomplishments in public and community service, particularly in the area of education and school reform.[30] In 2009, Hebrew Union College presented Lowell with a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, in Los Angeles. In 2004, Lowell was honored by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America during the event "Only in America: Jewish Music in a Land of Freedom."[31] In 2000, Lowell Milken was named one of America’s most generous philanthropists by Worth Magazine. Lowell Milken's work in business and philanthropy has been recognized by the National Association of State Boards of Education, the Horace Mann League and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.