“Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works.” Those are the words of Gordon Gekko, a character in the 1987 film “Wall Street,” who was partly inspired by Michael Milken. Mr. Milken, who became known as the billionaire king of junk bonds, was the face of avarice in the 1980s. After serving time in prison, he has gone on to other ventures.

1969

Mr. Milken, who was born in 1946, starts his Wall Street career after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, by joining a firm that would become Drexel Burnham Lambert.

1982

Mr. Milken and his brother, Lowell, create the Milken Family Foundation, which focuses in part on promoting education.

1989

A federal grand jury indicts Mr. Milken, accusing him of having cheated clients and stockholders, manipulating the market and tricking a corporation into being taken over.