From the Chairman

Each year at our Global Conference, we commission short essays from select speakers, asking them to share an insight that’s shaping their organization or industry. We call it the “Power of Ideas” series, reflecting our belief that big ideas can change the world in profound, positive ways.

This July, we’re opening an institution in Washington, DC, that’s committed
to one particularly powerful idea: the American Dream.

We created the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream
(MCAAD) to protect and expand the promise of a society where everyone,
regardless of origin, can pursue a life of meaning and fulfillment. We’ve seen
how access to opportunity transforms lives, whether through the countless stories of immigrants who arrive with ambition and go on to build extraordinary legacies, or via
the quiet determination of individuals who strive and overcome barriers to economic mobility.

Yet faith in this dream has wavered for some amid economic challenges and uncertainties.
MCAAD will serve as a beacon to the world to educate, inspire and illuminate pathways for
those seeking their dream. It’s a place where the spirit of free enterprise and individual liberty –
hallmarks of the most successful system for lifting people out of poverty and creating abundance
– will be celebrated, especially as we approach the nation’s semiquincentennial in 2026, marking
250 years of striving toward these ideals.

At the heart of MCAAD are four pillars we believe are essential for the American Dream to
thrive: Access to Capital and Economic Freedom; Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Medical
Research and Public Health; and Education and the Educator. These pillars are interdependent:
education and health lay the groundwork for a strong society, while capital access and entrepreneurship empower it to solve challenges and grow.

As I write this, we are preparing for the 28th annual Global Conference, where we will convene a remarkable diversity of leaders, including CEOs, philanthropists, medical researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, investors and government officials. By bringing together such varied
perspectives, we spark solutions to humanity’s toughest challenges. At the conference, at our
new Center in Washington, and in the pages of this – our 106th edition of the Milken Institute
Review – we hope to inspire the kind of vigorous, forward-looking exchange that ensures the
American Dream remains available for all.

Mike Milken, Chairman