Episode 7: Boesky & Milken’s Insider Trading Empire — How Greed Corrupted Wall Street
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Episode Details
In the excess-filled 1980s, Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken became two of the most powerful men on Wall Street. One was the self-proclaimed “King of Arbitrage.” The other was the “Junk Bond King.” Together, they built a massive empire based on stolen insider information, secret payoffs, and hundreds of millions in illegal profits.
In this episode, former FBI Special Agent Kevin Barrows takes you inside one of the largest insider trading scandals in American history — a story of breathtaking ambition, moral collapse, and how the “Greed is Good” culture enabled it all.
Timestamps:
- 00:00 – The 1980s Wall Street Party: Greed is Good
- 02:28 – My Year on Wall Street: From Salomon Brothers to Black Monday
- 05:07 – How Boesky & Milken Built Their Empire
- 06:43 – The Illegal Scheme: The Golden Rolodex
- 09:14 – The Investigation Begins: Flipping Informants
- 12:47 – Wearing the Wire: Secret Recordings That Changed Everything
- 13:37 – The Key Piece of Evidence
- 14:28 – The Downfall: Guilty Pleas and Fines
- 16:45 – Lie Detector Tip: The Danger of “Easy Money”
If you’ve ever encountered a deal that felt too good to be true, send your story to kevin@followtheliespodcast.com — it might become a future episode.
Download Kevin’s free guide: “7 Proven Strategies to Spot Lies” → https://followtheliespodcast.com