Ivan Boesky

Infobox Person


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name = Ivan Boesky
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birth_date = birth date and age|1937|3|6
birth_place = Detroit, Michigan
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Ivan Frederick Boesky (born March 6, 1937, in Detroit) was notable for his prominent role in a Wall Street insider trading scandal that occurred in the United States in the mid-1980s. Boesky was born to a Russian-Jewish family. He is a graduate of Detroit's Mumford High School and the College of Law at Michigan State University.

By 1986, Ivan Boesky had become an arbitrageur who had amassed a fortune of about US$200 million by betting on corporate takeovers. He was investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for making investments based on tips received from corporate insiders. These stock acquisitions were sometimes brazen, with massive purchases occurring only a few days before a corporation announced a takeover. Boesky was on the cover of "TIME" December 1, 1986. [ [http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19861201,00.html Ivan Boesky] at the TIME archive]

Although insider trading of this kind was illegal, laws prohibiting it were rarely enforced until Boesky was prosecuted. [ [http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/bizfinance/columns/bottomline/n_9352/ Article on Boesky] at "New York"] Boesky cooperated with the SEC and informed on several of his insiders, including junk bond trader Michael Milken. As a result of a plea bargain Boesky received a prison sentence of 3.5 years and was fined US$100 million. Although he was released after two years, he was barred from working in the securities business for the remainder of his life. [ [http://www.enotes.com/crime-criminals-biographies/boesky-ivan Ivan Boesky Biography] at enotes.com] He served his prison sentence at Lompoc Federal Prison Camp near Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Boesky has never recovered his reputation after doing a stint in jail, and paying hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and compensation for his Guinness share-trading fraud role and a host of separate insider dealing scams.

His involvement in criminal activities is recounted in the book "Den of Thieves" by Pulitzer Prize-winnining author James B. Stewart.

Cultural references

*The character of Gordon Gekko in the 1987 movie "Wall Street" is based at least in part on Boesky, especially regarding a famous speech he delivered on the positive aspects of greed at the University of California, Berkeley in 1986, where he said in part "I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself". [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,978367,00.html Battling Boeskys] at TIME]
*In the 2001 film "Ocean's Eleven", Brad Pitt's character, Rusty Ryan, mentions a type of confidence scam termed "a Boesky" that involves a wealthy bankroller with insider information.
*Ivan Boesky is referenced in the episode "Future Stock" of "Futurama" when the character known as That Guy, himself based in turn on Gordon Gekko, states "I was having whiskey with Boesky [Boesky's surname rhymes with "whiskey"] and cookies with Milken."cite web |url=http://www.futurama-madhouse.com.ar/scripts/3acv21.shtml |title=The Leela Zone - 3acv21: Future Stock episode transcript |format= |work= |accessdate=]

*Ivan Boesky is referenced in episode "Back in the Saddle Again" of "Gilmore Girls" when Rory's team meet at her grandparents house to find that Paris and Richard set up a board meeting for their class project.
*In the "Psych" episode "Psy vs. Psy", while Lassiter and Ewing are arguing in the hotel lobby, Ewing claims to have "personally arrested Ivan Boesky."
*In the "Sliders" episode "Last Days", a newspaper reports that "Ivan Boesky bought up half of Beverly Hills at $10,000 a house".

References