Ivan Frederick Boesky (/ˈboʊski/;[1] March 6, 1937 – May 20, 2024) was a convicted criminal and an American stock trader who was infamous for his prominent role in an insider trading scandal in the mid-1980s.
[8] In 1986, Boesky entered an agreement with the United States Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, agreeing to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit violations of the federal securities laws.
[10] The inside information typically involved tender offers, mergers or other possible business combinations, for companies such as Nabisco Brands, Inc., R.J. Reynolds, and Houston Natural Gas Corp.[10] Time magazine ran a December 1, 1986, cover story about his "scam," dubbing him "Ivan the Terrible.
[12] He cooperated with the SEC and informed on others, including the case against financier Michael Milken and, per a plea bargain, received a prison sentence of 3+1⁄2 years and was fined US$100 million.
[14] Boesky, unable to rehabilitate his reputation after being released from prison, paid hundreds of millions of dollars as fines and compensation for his Guinness share-trading fraud role and a number of separate insider-dealing scams.
[15] In 1962, Boesky married Seema Silberstein, the daughter of a Detroit real estate magnate whose holdings included The Beverly Hills Hotel in California.