Milken is proud of the role his think tank’s research has played in
encouraging the expansion of pension fund investment in emerging markets, the
creation of a market to trade emissions credits, a greater dedication of
resources to troubled urban areas, and even advances in cancer research
championed through FasterCures, his organization dedicated to fostering medical
breakthroughs. “How do you create prosperity?” he asks. “You create it by
improving human capital through education. You also do it through faster cures,
by extending life and the quality of life, and, next, you do it through the
deployment of existing financial technology and the deployment of developing new
financial technology.” Looking forward, Milken hopes his institute’s work may
help spur a mortgage market in the Middle East, which he believes would
transform the region’s social and political environment, not only by freeing up
capital, but also by democratizing home ownership. Although Milken remains the institute’s nonexecutive chairman and a major
donor, he has deliberately reduced his role. The institute’s research has
shifted from an acutely scholarly approach to one emphasizing applied and,
usually, sponsored research. It also relies on revenues from its yearly
conference, held each April. The event contributes 30 to 40 percent of the
organization’s $10 million annual budget. The conference regularly features
high-profile speakers: a mix of various thought leaders, Fortune 500 executives
and Nobel Prize recipients. Last year, in keeping with Milken’s bipartisan
approach, both Al Gore and Fox News CEO Roger Ailes spoke at a session on the
media’s role in a democracy.
Self-Sustaining Strategy
The Milken Institute receives funding from individuals, other foundations and
the sponsors of research projects. One large patron is Richard Sandler, a member
of the institute’s board of directors, executive vice president of the Milken
Family Foundation and partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Maron &
Sandler, who donated $750,000 in 2004, according to the institute’s IRS Form
990. (Milken provided $7 million, his only donation in a five-year period.)
Shmuel Meitar, a FasterCures board member, director of Aurec Group and vice
chairman of Aurec, an Israeli communications and media company, donated
$500,000. Other supporters of the institute, or its projects, range from the
Ford Foundation and the city of Los Angeles to investment bank Jefferies and
Co.
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