An annual convention held by Drexel Burnham Lambert for the purpose of matching high-risk companies searching for financing with investors who wanted the high rewards that can come with higher risk. After the first convention in 1979, these conventions became increasingly focused on setting up leveraged buyouts and hostile takeovers using junk bonds.

The predators' ball was an investment gala for corporate raiders and financiers. The term became the title of a book about the rise of junk bond trading and the fall of Drexel and Michael Milken. Since then, the term has been used to refer to meetings between high-net-worth investors who make their money through shorting, buyouts and other aggressive tactics.