Michael Amin is a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, investor, and fourth-generation pistachio farmer. He is also the founder and CEO of Primex World Inc., an investment firm whose portfolio includes pistachio orchards, real estate, and private equities.
Michael came to the United States at the age of 17 to pursue the American Dream. After settling in his newly-adopted country, he enrolled in post-secondary school, first at Pepperdine University and later at Cal State Northridge, eventually earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business from that institution.
While still studying for his degree, he assumed management of his family’s apartment complex and oversaw its conversion into condominiums. After graduating from Cal State, Michael Amin founded QuickPix One-Hour Photo, a rapid film development business. At the time, his long-term goal was to grow the company into a franchise, but the market quickly became saturated with similar business. After realizing this, he turned his attention to pursuing other projects, ultimately founding Primex Talking Yellow Pages and Top Attorneys Directory.
In 1988, he started his first pistachio farm, in keeping with his family’s legacy. Not long after, he founded Primex World Inc., where he still serves as CEO.
Some 14 years later, with his business career thriving, Michael Amin founded the nonprofit Maximum Difference Foundation (MDF) in 2002. One of MDF’s main focuses is to use advertising to motivate parents to educate themselves about the principles of good parenting, in an effort to lay the groundwork for stronger families and a better, happier, and more cohesive society.
Maximum Difference Foundation has a number of other important charitable priorities, as well. In matters pertaining to healthcare, it partners with Doctors without Borders, Umma Relief, IAMA (Iranian American Medical Association), the National MS Society, PACI (Persian American Cancer Institute), and Vibrant America. In matters pertaining to education, MDF partners with the Omid Foundation, APSIH (Association of Professors & Scholars of Iranian Heritage), as well as providing resources for homeless vocational training. In humanitarian matters, it partners with Amnesty International, Humans Rights Watch, Jewish Voices for Peace, Middle East Children Alliance, and American Near East Refugee Aid. In matters of environmental conservation, MDF partners with the tree-planting organization H20MA, while in matters of criminal justice reform, it partners with The Innocence Project.
Outside of Maximum Difference Foundation, Michael Amin is also a board member with the Farhang Foundation, an organization that promotes Iranian art and culture, as well as a board member with Vasht, an organization that preserves and celebrates the cultures of ancient civilizations.
