Gary K. Michelson Biography
Gary K. Michelson is an American orthopedic surgeon, medical inventor, and billionaire philanthropist whose groundbreaking work has helped millions of people suffering from spinal ailments. He has created implants, surgical procedures, and instruments that will allow surgeons to successfully treat a greater number of spinal conditions.
How old is Gary K. Michelson? – Age
He is 72 years old as of 14 January 2021. He was born in 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
Gary K. Michelson Family
Michelson and his three brothers were raised in Philadelphia by his mother and grandmother, whose experiences with syringomyelia sparked his interest in spinal disorders. He is of Jewish ancestry.
Gary K. Michelson Wife
Michelson, his wife Alya, and their three children live in Los Angeles. In 2014, the couple made a $50 million gift to the University of Southern California to establish the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience.
What did Gary Michelson invent?
Seeing the low success rates associated with spinal surgery procedures early in his career, Michelson developed new implants, instruments, and procedures to allow spinal surgeons to treat spinal ailments more precisely and effectively. These technologies, known as “Michelson Devices” in the medical community, aid in surgical procedures by reducing blood loss, incision size, and addressing other critical factors, allowing for more reliable, less invasive treatments. Michelson is the sole credited inventor on over 950 issued or pending patents worldwide in the field of spinal disorders treatment.
Gary Michelson House
Michelson’s home is in Los Angeles, California, USA. He purchased 60,000 acres in Panama and Costa Rica to reforest land and create animal sanctuaries.
Gary Michelson Animals Foundation
Michelson established the Found Animals Foundation in 2005 as a 501(c)(3) private operating foundation dedicated to animal welfare. In response to Hurricane Katrina, the foundation established the Found Animals Registry, the nation’s first free pet microchipping registry. In 2008, Found Animals established the Michelson Prize and Grants in Reproductive Biology, an international competition aimed at reducing shelter euthanasia through pet overpopulation control and funding non-surgical sterilant research. In 2020, the foundation launched the Better Neighbor Project to provide food and veterinary services to low-income and homeless pet owners, feeding over 12,500 pets in Los Angeles in the first year.
Gary Michelson Salary
He has an estimated net worth of $1.5 Billion. After years of litigation, he became a billionaire in 2005 when he reached a $1.35 billion settlement with medical device giant Medtronic.
How did Gary Michelson make his money?
Michelson was named to the Forbes 400 list in 2005 after selling many of his spine-related patents to Medtronic for $1.35 billion.
Gary Michelson Books
Michelson contributed to the free 2016 textbook The Intangible Advantage: Understanding Intellectual Property in the New Economy, and in August 2017 he created an undergraduate college course, “The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Intellectual Property,” for USC Marshall School of Business and Santa Monica College. The new Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property was announced in 2017.
