Howard Rubin is a retired financier and former bond trader prominently featured in Michael Lewis's 1989 book "Liar's Poker." He was known on Wall Street for decades, having worked at firms like Salomon Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, and Soros Fund Management. Rubin made a significant name for himself as a hard-charging bond trader and fund manager for billionaire George Soros. More recently, he has faced serious legal troubles, including federal criminal charges related to sex trafficking. The charges involve allegations that he and his former personal assistant, Jennifer Powers, operated a sex trafficking scheme that included coercing women, including former Playboy models, into sexual activities involving violence and bondage in a New York City penthouse with a "sex dungeon." Rubin allegedly spent over $1 million on recruiting and arranging these activities, with some encounters resulting in physical harm to the women. Rubin is currently facing indictment and could face a lengthy prison sentence if convicted.

There is also a separate individual named Howard M. Rubin who is a law professor at DePaul University in Chicago, with a career in legal public service, but this is a distinct person unrelated to the financier Howard Rubin involved in the criminal charges.