He is also the chairman of Knowledge Universe, which invests in Internet concerns; he was a co-founder of the company in 1996.

Geoffrey Moore, a senior vice president at Knowledge Universe, said, "We don't make short-term investments."

His Knowledge Universe has quietly acquired companies in businesses ranging from day care centers to computer training, with combined revenues of $1.2 billion last year.

But Knowledge Universe, while growing rapidly, still must prove it can change education, as opposed to merely changing the ownership of companies already in the business.

Knowledge Universe also offers many other facilities internationally.

Knowledge Universe is one of Oregon's largest privately held companies and a large employer in the Portland metro area.

Mr. Milken, above, is chairman of Knowledge Universe.

But LeapFrog is bounding ahead, propelled by the financial muscle of its majority owner, the global education conglomerate Knowledge Universe.

Over the last thirty years he has consulted for companies including Bank of America, Knowledge Universe, Bell Canada.

An example is Knowledge Universe, the conglomerate assembled by Mr. Milken.