All language subtitles for Titans.The.Rise.of.Wall.Street.S01E07.THE.GO-GO.80S.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-TEPES

- After over a
decade of economic downturn,

at the dawn of the 1980s,

Wall Street is
ready for a change.

- The economy was in rough
shape in the late 1970s.

So there was this general
feeling that we've gone too far

in government intrusion
into the private sector.

- The American voters
elect a new president,

Ronald Reagan,

who promises to
turn the clock back

to a time when America
was the envy of the world.

And a major part of that plan

to give Wall Street
it's swagger back.

- That meant
unleashing businessmen,

bankers, and investors
to use their money

in new ways to
free up Wall Street

as it had not been freed
up for a long time.

- The regulations
enacted by Joe Kennedy

are under attack

and leading the charge

into a new era of deal-making

are a new breed of
Wall Street Titans.

Men like Ivan Boesky.

- In 1981,

Wall Street is full

of ambitious brokers
looking to make their mark,

hustling to find an edge.

And no one is hustling more

- No now
get back to work.

- than Ivan Boesky.

- Let's go!

- An up and comer

with plans to put his
growing brokerage firm

- Jason!

- on the map.

- Come on!

Pick up the phones.

- What Boesky wanted, was power.

He wanted to be a player.

- Excellent. And that's
it, it's a deal, right?

- He tried to make
himself out to be

a larger than life figure,

somebody who loved
to flaunt his wealth.

He would take helicopters,
basically from his office

to his estate in Westchester.

- Let's pick this up in an hour.

- He just wanted the
world to view him

as a big swinging deck.

- For Ivan Boesky,

there's almost no
risk he won't take

to satisfy his ambitions.

- He seemed to be this
fully fledged shark

that emerged out of the ocean

in the early 80s.

But he was just a hungry kid
from Detroit who married well.

- Born into an immigrant
middle-class Jewish family

in Detroit,

Ivan Boesky always knew
he wanted to be rich,

but struggled to find his way.

- Boesky's parents sent him
to Cranbrook in Detroit,

which was a prestigious
prep school.

He only spent one year there.

They couldn't really
afford to send them longer.

- He seemed
destined for a life

working for his father.

- Ivan's first real job was
taking over the Brass Rail,

the family restaurant
in the decaying part

of downtown Detroit.

It was his brilliant idea
to turn it to a strip joint.

It didn't work and
ultimately went bankrupt.

- Then in 1962,
his luck takes a turn

when he marries
Seema Silberstein,

the daughter of a wealthy
Detroit real estate developer,

who owned the famed
Beverly Hills Hotel.

With family money behind him,

Boesky sets his
sights on Wall Street.

- When he started
his brokerage firm,

his father-in-law
basically staked him

with $700,000 and
he built off that

and made a ton of money.

- There's always,
those who said,

Ivan never would
have become Ivan

without marrying well,

without marrying Seema.

Actually kind of
thinking would have

cause I think he was that
driven and that hungry.

- Boesky
has made his mark

in the field of risk arbitrage.

Long considered an area of
trading with lower returns,

that's all changed
with deregulation

and the hottest new
trend on Wall Street,

corporate takeovers.

- Arbitrage involves
buying a stock,

anticipating that it's
going to go up in value

because of let's say a merger

that might happen in the future.

The arbitrager or we'll buy
the stock of the company

that is the target of
a potential takeover.

If they're right and
the takeover happens,

that's going to
drive the price up.

- You profit from
the spread between

that price that you buy it at

and the price with
the ultimate deal.

And that's spread
can be very big.

You can make a lot of money.

It all depends on when in the
timeline you buy the stock

of the target company.

- Risk arbitrage
requires deep research

into companies to
understand their value

and the willingness
to risk everything

to make it pay off,

a trait that
defines Ivan Boesky.

- You have to have very,
very strong stomach.

These are very short
term investments,

but they're very, very intense
during that time period,

because anything
can blow the deal.

- August 5th, 1981,

Conoco oil,

one of America's
largest oil companies

is the target of a takeover bid.

Ivan Boesky has been closely
watching it for months.

The deal is complex
and volatile.

- Jason, get in here!

- It could
collapse it any moment.

- The government can determine

that there is an
antitrust issue.

The acquiring
company can back out.

Anything can happen.

And you have all this
money out on the table.

- Why haven't I gotten this
morning's stock reports?

- Convinced the
merger will go through

Boesky has gambled almost
everything his firm has

looking for a massive return.

- Boesky put up a lot
into the Conoco deal

as high as 90%.

That is huge risk.

That is like putting all
your eggs in one basket.

Something most investors would
not do. Not at that level.

- Just have him call
me at my office.

- Yeah, put him through.

Okay, John, give
me some good news.

I can live with that.

- The Conoco
deal goes through

and the winning bid has
pushed the stock price

to record breaking heights.

- Conoco started at $50 a share

and at the end it's $98 a share.

So if you think
about that spread,

it's almost a
doubling your money.

- It is the game changer
Boesky has been dreaming of.

With $40 million in profits
his reputation surges.

- Given Boesky's success
in the Conoco deal

that brought him a lot
of respect on Wall Street

because when you're successful

and that successful on a deal,

it means you've done
a lot of things right.

It's someone who's very smart,

someone who has a
lot of commitment to
doing the research,

to doing the hard work.

- Ivan Boesky emerges

as the hottest name
on Wall Street.

- There was a time
when arbitragers

were looked down on Wall Street.

As that the money got bigger,

as the takeovers got bigger,

a lot of people were
just kind of going, wow.

That's really cool.

- Fresh off making
a fortune with Conoco,

Ivan Boesky isn't satisfied.

He wants more.

- Power. Prestige. That's
really a lot of it here.

You go for your first million,
maybe it is about the money.

But what makes you go
for that next million?

What it's really about is what

that money sort of affords you.

It affords you a certain
prestige, a certain class,

a certain status in our society.

And that becomes addictive.

- Boesky has one major
advantage over everyone else.

No one is more persistent.

Known for fearlessly calling
and badgering for intel,

when it brings him a new lead
Boesky plans to double down

and make another massive bet.

In May of 1982 Boesky
is picking up signals

that another oil
giant, Gulf Petroleum,

will launch a take over a
competitor named Cities Service.

Boesky starts snapping
up massive amounts

of Cities Service stock,

even going 70 million
into debt to do so,

certain that Gulf's
takeover will go through.

- So Gulf bids up and
the price of the stock

went 50 up to 60.

- As the
stock price near $63,

most believe the
deal is imminent,

but it's called risk
arbitrage for a reason.

When suddenly the federal
government takes notice

and begins to examine the
deal for antitrust violations.

It begins to fall apart

and Ivan Boesky knows

if Gulf backs out, he
will lose millions.

- Dump as much Cities
Service as you can

on the west coast market.

Now.

- Boesky's traders
make frantic calls

to the west coast

- Damn it.

- to try and sell
his Cities Service stock.

But it's too late.

- Gulf walks away.

Guess what happens to
Cities Service stock?

Boom.

- It's a
devastating blow.

Boesky has purchased 90%
of his Cities Service stock

with borrowed money.

Boesky knows paying it back
will bankrupt his company

and leave him with nothing.

- You've borrowed to
buy your positions.

And now your brokerage says,
you don't have enough capital.

You need to send us money.

And then what.

- Boesky liquidates
every other stock he owns

to pay his debts,

but it's not enough.

Desperate to save his company,

Boesky reaches out
to Spear Leeds,

the firm that
executes his trades.

- So, Boesky goes to
Spear Leeds to say,

Hey, could you buy
some of my position?

So I don't literally
go bankrupt.

- Okay, thanks Paul.

- To protect
their largest client

Spear Leeds buys 400,000
of Boesky's shares

giving him enough cash
to pay off his debt

and saving Ivan Boesky
from bankruptcy.

- Ultimately he ended
up losing money,

but he was protected from
losing the whole thing.

- Boesky has
lost almost a third

of his firm's
assets, $24 million,

and his reputation suffers.

Shaken, and almost ruined

by circumstances
beyond his control,

Boesky is determined to make
sure it never happens again.

- There's so much
uncertainty about

if a deal will really
close and at what price.

Boesky had to rethink
his business model.

How could he get the risk down?

How could he reduce his exposure

or the likelihood
of losing on a deal?

- Boesky knows he needs
to stay ahead of the curve.

And now he's willing to
do whatever it takes,

even if that means
breaking the rules.

- That's the moment when
he thought to himself,

I'm going to have to
cheat if I'm going to win.

And that's the moment he
starts to try and figure out,

how can I find people to feed
me information illegally.

- Boesky keeps
investment bankers close,

constantly pushing
them for new intel

and to see how far they'll go.

- Martin Siegel, please.

- But he needs someone
willing to cross that line.

Someone like Martin Siegel.

- Well, there wasn't much
work to do on the grounds

but we spent a fortune
on the renovations,

you know, and art.

But that's all Seema.

She's got a great eye, you know,

and it's a hell of
a good investment.

- Better than Conoco.

- Let's not go overboard.

- Okay if I ask a
personal question?

- Of course, yeah.

- There were a lot of rumors

about how much you
cleared on that deal.

- Yeah.

- What's the truth?

- What do you think?

- Every number I heard
made my head spin.

So what difference does it make?

- It was 40 million.

Sometimes you get lucky.

- Martin Siegel was
an investment banker

working for Kidder Peabody.

- Marty Siegel was the elite.

He was a top 10, if not top
five deal maker on Wall Street.

He was gold plated.

- With good
looks, a Harvard degree,

and a seven figure salary,

Siegel appears to have it all.

But with takeover mania
gripping Wall Street,

he doesn't want to
miss out on anything.

- So what's your next move?

- Well, I don't
know. You tell me.

- Siegel is having money
problems of his own,

even though he's making
a seven figure salary

in investment banking.

And Boesky is the one
who says, look, you know,

you give me info and
I'll give you cash.

- Caught up
in the status game

of Wall Street's top bankers,

Siegel is spending money
faster than he can make it.

And he's convinced himself,

even though going in with
Boesky means crossing a line,

he won't get caught.

- At the time, in
the early eighties,

there was a lot less clarity
around insider information

and a lot less of the SEC
getting involved in it.

It's illegal, but
there really is no

black and white definition.

- Ivan Boesky.

- Ivan, Martin Siegel. Listen,
I don't have much time.

So I'll get right to the point.

We're dealing with a
bit of a situation here.

I'm hoping you can help me out.

- Of course, Martin.

- I'll explain later.

For now, what I need you
to do is buy Index, big.

- Marty.

Can I count on this?

- You'll be glad you did.

- Martin Siegel
has tipped off Ivan Boesky

about a hostile takeover
involving his client,

Martin Marietta and
the Bendix Corporation

With one phone call,

Martin Siegel knows
he's broken the law

and there's no turning back.

- A guy like Marty giving tips

to someone like Ivan
Boesky, just why?

It was a crime.

- Marty Siegel was feeling
like, I don't have enough money.

You know, like I need,
I need more money.

I know that sounds crazy.

But you know, people
with a lot of money

sometimes stop understanding
what's necessary

versus what's a luxury.

- For Ivan Boesky
there are few concerns

with right or wrong.

The only thing that matters
is coming out on top.

- Jason, I need
you to buy Bendix

a hundred thousand shares.

That's right.

I'll call if there's more.

- With his
winning reputation,

after Boesky buys in,
the market follows

driving the price of Bendix
stock through the roof.

Siegel and Boesky his plan
has worked to perfection.

Boesky gets exactly what
he needs from Siegel

and cashes out,

turning a huge profit
with little risk.

But this is only the beginning.

Over the next few months,

Boesky gets more inside
tips about impending mergers

from Siegel

making huge profits

and cementing his reputation

as Wall Street's King
of Risk Arbitrage.

As Boesky reaches new
levels of success,

making untold millions
with every deal.

Martin Siegel is only
taking a small cut

and can't help but wonder

if he's made the right move.

- Insider trading
is one of the most

unfair and damaging
practices when it occurs

because you've made money

and that's not because
you're particularly skillful.

It's just because someone told
you things you didn't know.

- When you have
confidential information

about your client and you
share it with somebody

and you know that that
person is going to act on it,

both you and the person you tell

know that you're
doing something wrong.

- Sonya cancel my
afternoon appointments.

- Fearful of a
paper trail Siegel insists

that his $150,000
payment from Boesky

be made in cash.

- It's sort of mind boggling.

It's like, cash?
That's how you did it?

And of course,

that's one of the things
that made it so sexy.

- Ivan Boesky knows
his payments to Siegel

are the best investment
he's ever made

and the two continue
their secret partnership,

making millions along, the way.

While Boesky has become the
biggest name in risk arbitrage,

another man operating from
his office 3000 miles away

has become the most
powerful Wall Street Titan

since JP Morgan.

His name is Michael Milken.

Milken is the head of
high yield securities

at the investment bank,
Drexel, Burnham and Lambert.

And he has completely
changed how money is made

by doing things his way.

- Michael Milken
was far and away,

Not only the most important
person on Wall Street,

but arguably the most
important Wall Street financier

since the crash of 29.

- But he didn't
start out a Titan.

He grew up in a
middle-class Jewish family.

- He had the purest
life imaginable.

He was married to his
high school sweetheart.

He was home every night. He
never had a drink in his life.

Never smoked a cigarette,
never took a drug.

- Yeah, there were
clues to his future potential,

both to his ruthlessness
and to his genius.

- He was a high
school cheerleader

and he was attacked once
in a local newspaper

because he called
for more points

when his team was
ahead 42 to nothing.

At Berkeley, he could do math,
like a genius in his head.

- In his first
year on Wall Street,

Michael Milken's detailed
statistical analysis

reveals a stunning insight.

The market was missing

a potential trillion
dollar opportunity,

junk bonds.

Bonds for lower rated companies

with a higher interest rate

were actually a
better investment.

- What Milken understood was

that these credit
rating agencies,

looked at historical performance

and these companies
that needed financing,

couldn't get it in traditional
Wall Street routes,

didn't have that
performance to show.

But what they had
was future potential.

- It was an imperfection
in the market

where the banks just
would not take risks

even though there was money

to be made if you took risks

against a portfolio of
these smaller businesses.

- Warren, it's Mike...
Milken, are you still asleep?

It's 5:30.

But there's a situation in Tokyo

that I really need to discuss
with you, but you're not here.

No, no.

We'll discuss it

when you get your
ass into the office

where you should have
been half an hour ago.

- Soon Milken
is generating hundreds

of millions of dollars

through the groundbreaking
new junk bond market,

he's created.

- He was doing thousands
of transactions a day.

Following thousands of companies

coming in at four
in the morning,

beating everybody to work.

He had a phenomenal ability
to just be a work machine.

- What he did was create
an entirely new business

that created entirely new
phenomenon of takeovers

that changed Corporate America,

and to a degree
America, forever.

- By 1984,

Drexel Burnham is bringing
in over a billion dollars

in revenue with
Milken's junk bonds

accounting for more than half.

He earns tens of millions of
dollars in bonuses for himself.

Milken's statistical genius is
eclipsed only by his vision.

Milken believes he can reshape
the entire American economy

beating the financial
elite at their own game.

- Michael Milken was
motivated by money,

but he was also really ambitious

to build something of stature
and something that would last.

He wanted junk bonds to
become a commonplace vehicle.

- He was able to create a
market where it didn't exist.

So suddenly you have
all these companies

that were able to
raise the capital

that they desperately
needed to grow.

And that was made
possible by Mike Milken

and the junk bond market.

- Michael
Milken has created

a multi-billion dollar
market from nothing,

something Ivan Boesky
can only dream of.

And unlike Boesky,
Milken did it quietly.

The two men couldn't
be more different.

Boesky is self-serving
while Milken is loyal.

So when Ivan Boesky reaches out.

- This is Carolyn.

- Get me Michael
Milken at Drexel in LA.

Let me know when you have him.

- Michael Milken.

- Milken isn't interested

in what he sees as a
dangerous risk taker.

But Ivan Boesky knows
that with Milken's genius

and his fearlessness, they
can make Wall Street history.

Boesky refuses to
take no for an answer

and flies out to LA to
meet with Milken in person

and convince him to
fund his next big move.

- What Boesky wanted was power.

Mike had the ability to
bring him into the club

and Mike had the
ability to finance him.

- I'll put it to you
as simply as I can.

High yield bonds reward
hard work and preparation

with a sense of certainty.

Stocks depend on investor's
collective perceptions

of the future.

That's an unknown
it's uncontrollable.

Bonds have a maturity date.

So if I'm right,
and I usually am,

I know how much money
I'll make when I buy them.

That level of certainty is

priceless.

Perfect. I'll pass
you off to Gary

and he can write it up.

- You sold me.

- If you weren't already sold
you wouldn't be sitting there.

I'm the one who
needs convincing.

- Okay.

A good place to start,

Beverly Hills Hotel corporation.

It's a clean balance
sheet and I own it.

- I'm listening.

- Boesky surprises
Milken with an asset

too valuable to ignore.

Boesky and his wife, Seema,
own her late father's

small chain of hotels,

including the world famous
Beverly Hills Hotel.

Boesky knows it has real value

and offers it as collateral
to get money from Milken.

Milken is surprised by a deal
backed by such a solid asset.

So he has no hesitation

issuing junk bonds
worth $100 million.

- Excellent. Then that's it.

It's a deal, right?

- Now, armed with
a hundred million dollars

of cash to invest Ivan Boesky
is bolder than ever before.

Profiting from takeovers
by companies such as

General Foods,
Nestle and Texaco,

each deal makes Boesky a
bigger legend on Wall Street

and he loves every minute of it.

- Jason!

Get in here.

- Boesky was just a greedy SOB.

I mean, that's what he was.

He really was all
about the money.

- Ivan Boesky Wall Street's
biggest independent speculator

and according to Forbes,

one of the richest
men in this country.

- Ivan Boesky's
ego, lavish style

and success had made him
the toast of Wall street.

With every winning deal,

more and more investors
follow his lead.

But now all that attention
has created a problem.

After two years of trading
cash for inside tips,

people are beginning
to ask questions

about Ivan Boesky's amazing run.

- There was an article
in Fortune Magazine

that talked about
Boesky and his success,

and also his business
relationship with
Kidder Peabody,

which clearly caused people
who were watching Boesky

and wondering how
he was so successful

thinking about, is that a way

in which Boesky is
getting his information.

- For Martin Siegel,

Boesky's key inside
information source,

all the attention is
giving him cold feet.

- Yes?

- Ivan Boesky, line two.

- Tell him I'm
out of the office.

- I'm sorry. He's not
in the office right now.

Can I take a message?

- Just have him
call me my office.

- The article

centers on the $28 million
profit Boesky cleared

in Nestle's takeover
of Carnation.

- There were
suspicions about him,

that he was a little sleazy

and there were
people who thought

maybe Ivan Boesky

is gathering information

in a way he should not have.

- While Martin Siegel

had given Boesky inside
information on the deal,

the article doesn't
mention him by name.

Yet, as the star Mergers
and Acquisitions banker

at Kidder Peabody,

Siegel is worried it could
still put him on the SECs radar.

At the SEC,

Head of Enforcement, Gary Lynch,

has heard all the rumors
about inside trading,

but he is fighting
an uphill battle.

- Insider trading is
very difficult to prove

because you have to
connect a lot of dots,

but the way people buy stock,

they can buy it on rumor,

they can buy it on research.

You don't know the reasons
why someone is buying a stock.

It's pretty hard to
associate any kind of fraud

with such activity.

- Stepping away
from an unsatisfying job

as a corporate lawyer,

Gary Lynch is driven
to safeguard the market

for the average investor.

- Gary Lynch was tenacious

in his job in
protecting investors.

He was aggressive.

He was fair.

And he knew the industry
that he was operating in.

- Lynch is
determined to gain control

of a Wall Street he
sees as a runaway train.

Knowing how difficult an
insider trading case is to prove

Ivan Boesky isn't
worried about the SEC.

But he could have a problem
with Michael Milken.

With millions in interest
payments owed to Milken,

Boesky knows he can't
afford to let Martin Siegel

and his insider
tips just walk away.

- Martin Siegel's
office. May I help you?

- Ivan Boesky for Martin Siegel.

- One moment, please.

- Yes.

- Ivan
Boesky, line one.

- Tell him I'm on the phone.

- I'm sorry. He's
on the other line.

Can I take a message?

- I'll hold for as
long as it takes.

- Okay.

- Yes.

- He said he'll
hold as long as it takes.

- Fine. Put him through.

Hey, Ivan.

- Well, well, well, he's alive.

- Sorry I haven't been
able to get back to you.

It's just,

- Why don't we get some lunch

any day you're free.

Café des Artistes, my treat.

- I don't know, Ivan.

It's just really busy right now.

- You know, Marty, you keep
brushing me off like this,

my feelings are
going to get hurt.

- Oh, no. I'm not
brushing you off.

It's just...

- Marty.

You wouldn't want me to
get my feelings hurt.

Would you?

- Look, Ivan, I've got to go.

I will call you
back soon. I will.

- A deal that seemed
like it could go on forever

is now a bitter standoff.

Ivan Boesky needs Martin
Siegel's information.

But Siegel wants nothing
more than to get out.

For months Siegel avoids Boesky.

But as the end of
the year approaches,

he needs more money.

With renovation costs to
his Manhattan apartment

approaching half
a million dollars,

Siegel is looking to collect

what he is still owed

for his insider tips
to Boesky, $400,000.

- There's pure greed.

And then you have people
who have a weak moment

and decide that it's just
going to be easier today

if I do something wrong.

And they always think

that they're going
to correct it.

And that's not the way it works.

- Boesky agrees and sets
up the money drop to Siegel.

- At 9:00 AM sharp,
go to the phone booth,

pick up the receiver and
pretend to make a call.

While you're on the phone,

the courier will
stand behind you

pretending to be next in line.

He will place the
bag at your left leg,

then disappear.

- With Siegel paid off,

Boesky is hoping the flow
of inside information

will turn back on.

But after getting the payment

Siegel's fear of the SEC

and a guilty conscience

finally, win out.

He cuts off all ties
with Ivan Boesky.

- Martin Siegel enjoyed the
money, but at the same time,

didn't like the fact
that he was doing it.

He had a moral compass.

- Now,
without Siegel's tips

Boesky's worried
he won't be able

to generate the profits he needs

to make his massive
interest payments to Milken.

Just as Boesky is looking
for a new inside connection

he meets Dennis Levine.

Levine is a new Mergers
and Acquisitions banker

at Drexel Burnham

who's been making millions,

illegally trading
insider information,

and he knows he
can make even more

with Boesky on his side.

- Here's my proposal.

Five percent of any profit.

- What if I already
own the stock?

- The information
is still valuable.

Okay. For that, one percent.

- That seems fair.

- Ivan, I am
nothing if not fair.

- Then I'm sure you'll
agree, in the unlikely event,

I lose money on a tip,

comes out of your share.

- I can live with that.

- Ivan Boesky has
his new information source.

And Dennis Levine wastes no time

showing he means business.

Levine tips Boesky off
about a massive merger

between RJ Reynolds
Tobacco and Nabisco.

With Boesky buying heavily,

once again, all of Wall
Street gets in on the game,

driving the price
of Nabisco higher.

When Reynolds $4.9 billion
takeover is complete

it's a record setting number
for non-oil companies.

And Boesky cashes out

having made millions in profits.

With a new inside connection

it looks like Ivan
Boesky's winning streak

could go on forever.

The stock market has continued
to hit record numbers.

And in the era of
rolled back regulations,

it's easier than ever to get
away with breaking the rules.

- I think the
motivation for people

to go past the boundaries

really is a feeling
that they know something

that the regulators don't
know or don't understand.

This time, they're going
to get away with it.

I think that Boesky certainly
was one of those who felt

he knew more than
the regulators.

Sooner or later the
regulators catch up.

- Meanwhile at the SEC,

a few outliers are
raising suspicions.

After an article appears
in the New York Times,

questioning the effectiveness
of the Commission,

as head of enforcement,

Gary Lynch takes it personally.

- Hey. It's Gary.

You got a minute?

Something just came across my
desk I think you should see.

- Gary Lynch was very
much a straight up person.

The way in which he
conducted himself,

going after these
kinds of cases,

going after fraud,

going after financial criminals.

- He increases staff

and steps up enforcement,

targeting the
investors who's success

seems just too good to be true.

Wall Street's biggest
deal maker, Michael Milken

has never worried about the SEC

because nothing he
does is illegal.

But the junk bond
market Milken created

is now full of imitators.

With the rest of Wall
Street using his strategies,

they're catching up.

For Milken,

the pressure is on

to stay one step ahead
of the competition.

- Mike Milken was
extremely competitive,

covetous of what he had created.

This was his baby

and he didn't want anybody else

to worm their way in.

- Milken decides to bet
on his biggest underdog yet,

a man disrupting an
industry of his own,

a brash Georgia
cable TV entrepreneur

named Ted Turner.

And he is just unveiled a new
24 hour cable news channel

called CNN.

Now Turner was looking
to expand his empire

by taking over MGM studios.

- Ted Turner had trouble
getting the funding

because the traditional
banking industry said

you don't have enough
income to buy MGM.

And what are you going to do

with MGM as an
upstart cable company.

And Michael Milken came along
and said, Hey, Ted Turner,

I'll help fund you to buy MGM.

- But with both companies
on shaky financial ground,

Milken struggles
to find investors

to fund the $1.5
billion takeover.

One of the biggest
deals of his career

is in danger of falling apart.

Now Milken needs MGM
to appear stronger.

- One way that you could
influence that would be by

making it look like there
was demand for the stock.

And if there was
demand for the stock

and the stock price went up,

you could say, well, look,

everybody thinks that
this is a good deal.

- Knowing a loss on
MGM will be a major setback,

Milken is forced to
think outside of the box

and the law.

He needs to manipulate
the stock price.

And he knows just the
man to make it happen.

He places a call

asking Ivan Boesky to make
big buys of MGM stock.

- Boesky buying stocks
certainly sends a signal

that there's a higher
probability that
the deal will occur.

- With Boesky buying,

other investors
immediately dive in

driving up MGM stock price.

Soon, Milken's
skeptical clients,

fall in line and start
buying the bonds.

While the scheme works,

it also breaks the law.

- Clearly didn't want the
information to get out

that it was Milken behind it.

That's not only
unethical, it's illegal.

- No one is aware that
the stock is being manipulated

by Milken and Boesky.

And when the dust settles

Turner buys MGM for $1.5 billion

funded entirely by Mike
Milken's junk bonds.

Boesky and Milken clear
$3 million in profits

from the stock trades.

But that's nothing

compared to the 66 million

Milken receives in commissions.

Michael Milken has
reinforced his title

as the undisputed
King of Wall Street.

- Michael Milken, he didn't
feel he was cheating.

He felt he was actually building
up a nascent cable industry

that would become
important, powerful

and provide consumer
services to the public.

- The Turner deal is big.

But with their scheme
to manipulate the stock

working so well,

Milken and Boesky are
just getting started.

With Boesky doing the buying
to pump up the stock price

Milken pushes through
a dizzying series

of junk bond funded takeovers.

- It got to the point

where all he had to
do is write a letter

saying I'm highly confident

that I can raise the money.

That's all the raider needed
is this piece of paper.

They didn't even need the bonds.

They just needed the
highly confident letter.

- Milken and Boesky
are making millions,

leaving a broad path of
destruction in their wake.

- A lot of the takeover
battles were driven

by ego and greed.

- These corporate
raiders, they'd go in

and literally hollow
out the company,

fire a ton of people.

And then they'd burn these
companies with the debt.

It'd literally
bankrupt companies.

- Some companies need
to go out of business,

but these were
financing techniques

that were madly and wildly
overused on Wall Street

in the eighties.

they were applied to companies

that did not fit the bill

in large part because
investment banks

made so much money doing them.

This stuff didn't
need to be done.

- For Ivan Boesky

all the talk of greed
run a muck on Wall Street

is just noise.

The money he made working
with Siegel and Levine

doesn't come close to
the millions he's banking

from his alliance with Milken.

And it doesn't seem
like there's anything

that can stop them.

But in a small
office across town

SEC agent Gary Lynch

is about to catch a break,

a tip that reveals a
potentially massive case

of insider trading.

- This is Gary Lynch.

- A tip that Lynch knows

could bring a Wall Street
Titan tumbling down,

- Gary, Harvey Pitt here

in The Bahamas, and
I have some news.

My client is prepared to
reveal the name of the person

responsible for all the trades.

- What kind of
name are we talking?

Trust me, Gary, he's a whale.

- A case is brought

that uncovers corruption
at the highest levels.

Pitting the government,

- I don't like being
lied to, Harvey.

- Join the club.

- against Wall
Street's biggest players.

- This is really just all a

big misunderstanding.

- It isn't.

- Turning them
against each other

as they fight to survive.

- Ivan, you're gonna
need to cut a deal.

- In a showdown
with billions on the line.

- This whole place
could be bugged.

- There's
nothing they won't do

to stay on top.

Milken's going to kill me.