Michael Amin

Early life

Originally born in Iran, Michael Amin moved to the United States in 1976 at the age of 17 to pursue his post-secondary education. He first attended Pepperdine University but later transferred to California State University, Northridge, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business. While still a student, Amin managed his family’s apartment complex in Los Angeles.

Career

Michael Amin’s first entrepreneurial venture was co-founding QuickPix, one of the first one-hour photo development companies in the United States. Although the rapid expansion of the photo development market in the 1980s made the business unsustainable, it taught him important lessons about timing and competition. After leaving QuickPix, Amin developed two niche directory services, Primex Talking Yellow Pages and Top Attorneys Directory.

In 1988, Michael Amin established his own pistachio orchard, joining the family business. He added several more and, to manage his growing portfolio, he established Primex World Inc. Under his leadership, the company acquired interests in pistachios, real estate, private equities, public equities, alternative investments, and various other assets. Amin remains CEO of Primex World Inc.

In 2001, Michael Amin launched Maximum Difference Foundation (MDF), a nonprofit with a mandate to create as much positive change as possible by applying return-on-investment principles to the arena of charity. Just as businesses evaluate ROI to maximize financial returns, MDF evaluates the “units of positive change” that can be generated with each dollar invested.

The idea of units of positive change was conceived by Amin as a means of expressing how much good can come from each action, donation, or project. By applying this strategic method to all of MDF’s activities, the foundation can better measure its real-world impact, instead of simply giving money to worthy causes and hoping for the best. Utilizing this innovative approach allows MDF to focus its efforts where they can do the most good and make the biggest difference in people’s lives.

MDF also donates money to other nonprofit organizations in an effort to amplify its charitable impact. Some of the wide range of nonprofits MDF works with include Doctors Without Borders, the National MS Society, UMMA Relief, and Vibrant America in the realm of healthcare; American Near East Refugee Aid and The Toy Foundation in the realm of helping the underprivileged; Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Center for Constitutional Rights in the realm of human rights; H20MA in the realm of environmental preservation; and the Innocence Project in the realm of criminal justice reform, among many others.

Additionally, MDF supports programs that promote improved parenting practices, believing that better parenting practices have a significant multiplier effect on all aspects of the future. One of the primary programs of MDF is to motivate parents to learn the art and science of good parenting through reading books, attending seminars, and consulting with therapists. This approach is grounded in the belief that happy children, raised by informed parents, will not only succeed in life but also contribute meaningfully to society, exponentially increasing the units of positive change returned.

Net Worth

Michael Amin’s net worth is not currently available to the public.