The story of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) begins in the rubble of one of Wall Street’s most spectacular collapses. When Drexel Burnham Lambert imploded in 1990 amid the Michael Milken junk bond scandal, it scattered thousands of employees across the financial industry. Among them was Tony Ressler, who served as senior vice president in Drexel’s high-yield bond department, working directly under Milken during the firm’s heyday.
While Drexel’s aggressive culture ultimately led to its destruction, the credit market innovations pioneered there would prove to have lasting value—particularly the insights about middle-market lending and alternative corporate finance that Milken’s team developed.
