Articles from Milken Institute

The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation are proud to announce the winner of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech, a $2 million innovation award designed to reward companies working to expand access to capital and financial services for small businesses in emerging and frontier markets. The winner was announced at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles.

The Milken Institute’s 28th annual Global Conference opens today and runs through May 7, 2025, at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Under the theme Toward a Flourishing Future, the conference will gather 1,000 speakers and 5,000 attendees from more than 80 countries—including CEOs, government officials, philanthropists, scientists, investors, cultural icons, and nonprofit leaders—to spotlight bold ideas, disruptive innovations, and actionable solutions to the most urgent global issues.

The Milken Institute today announced its initial speakers and program agenda for the 2025 Global Conference, taking place May 4–7 at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Featuring more than 150 public conversations and panel discussions, Global Conference is the leading platform for changemakers from different backgrounds and with different views to have difficult but civil conversations. Topics will include greater access to capital for all, the state of public health, evolving geopolitical tensions, climate change, artificial intelligence, impact investing, and more.

Today, the Milken Institute released its annual Global Opportunity Index (GOI) report, with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. The LAC region has become a popular destination for foreign capital, attracting almost half of foreign direct investment inflows to emerging and developing (E&D) economies—and over a third of global inflows—in 2023.

Today, the Milken Institute 2025 Finance Forum convenes more than 250 leaders, innovators, investors, and policymakers dedicated to identifying innovative ways to fund, finance, and deliver critical community infrastructure projects and economic development initiatives globally.

Raleigh, NC is the best-performing large metropolitan area, according to the 2025 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities (BPC) report, taking the top spot in the rankings following two consecutive years of ranking among the top-three large cities. Among small cities, Gainesville, GA tops the index after being featured among the BPC's top 10 small metropolitan areas every year since 2016. These cities’ rankings were fostered by strong job and wage growth and a robust high-tech presence.

The Milken Institute 2024 Middle East and Africa (MEA) Summit, running December 5 and 6, will convene hundreds of influential business and philanthropic leaders, health and finance experts, and policy changemakers from around the world to discuss, explore and catalyze ideas to guide solutions to many of today’s global issues. Centered around the theme “Investing in a Shared Future,” in-person and virtual observers of the two-day event at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, will hear from distinguished luminaries such as Edward Norton, Actor and UN Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, United Nations; Geetha Tharmaratnam, Chief Impact Investment Officer, WHO Foundation and First Lady Jill Biden, who will join the event for a fireside conversation on women’s health research.

The Milken Institute Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) announced key resources and philanthropic capital to reshape scientific research fields and advance better diagnostics and treatments at the annual Future of Health Summit.

The Milken Institute 2024 Future of Health Summit opens today, gathering hundreds of renowned business leaders, health experts, and policymakers to explore and catalyze ideas to address the most consequential issues shaping the future of health. Centered around the unifying theme “Partnering for Better Health,” attendees and viewers of the two-day event, November 13–14 at the Salamander in Washington, DC, will hear from leaders such as Monica Bertagnolli, director, National Institutes of Health; Rob Califf, commissioner, Food and Drug Administration; Mandy Cohen, director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; John Crowley, president and CEO, Biotechnology Innovation Organization; Atul Gawande, assistant administrator for global health, US Agency for International Development; Kimryn Rathmell, director, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health; and many more.

The Milken Institute, a global nonpartisan think tank, today issued a new report outlining efforts to curb gun violence through a multipronged approach leveraging business and philanthropic communities. The Institute’s Gun Violence Prevention (GVP) Initiative, launched in 2022, addresses the pressing issue of gun violence in the United States and works collaboratively with communities, philanthropists, and corporate-sector leaders to motivate actionable steps in the response to this public health crisis.

The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation announced the 10 teams advancing to the Semifinalist Round of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech, with each team receiving $100,000 in funding.

The Milken Institute today released a report on artificial intelligence (AI), precision medicine, and neurodegenerative disease. The report will serve as a resource for patient advocates, philanthropists, researchers, policymakers, and industry to work together to accelerate the ethical adoption of these exciting new technologies for maximum impact.

Leaders of the Milken Institute, a global nonpartisan think tank, are on the ground participating in and around the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Each fall, New York City becomes the center for global thought leaders as heads of state, corporate executives, and influential change-makers come together to address the most pressing challenges facing our world. This year, Milken Institute experts will advance four key areas of its programmatic work across finance, health, and philanthropy: addressing climate change through innovation; advancing global health access and investment in antimicrobial resistance; leveraging finance and innovation for a resilient, prosperous Africa; and building pathways to strategic philanthropy.

The Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy, in partnership with the Tullman Family Office (TFO) and The Duchossois Family Foundation (TDFF), today launched a new collaborative effort aimed at improving the lives of our nation’s veterans.

The Milken Institute is proud to announce the opening of the 2025 cohort application for its Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Fellowship program. Through its rigorous eight-week academic curriculum and summer practicum, the program creates accelerated pathways for underrepresented talent and bridges the gap between academia and industry, equipping students with the skills and knowledge to excel in asset management careers. The fellowship targets students entering their sophomore year at HBCUs and provides professional development, opportunities for personal growth through curated mentorship, and exclusive access to networking opportunities with industry leaders, including participation in Milken Institute conferences and public and private events. Interested HBCU students can apply to join the next cohort here.

The Milken Institute, a nonpartisan international think tank dedicated to driving practical, scalable solutions to global challenges, announced today its inaugural convening in Latin America, the Global Investors’ Symposium: Mexico, taking place October 23-24 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mexico City.

The Milken Institute today announced the launch of the Africa Leaders Business Council. The newly established council brings together a group of thought leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and experts across business, technology, finance and investment, sustainability, and innovation to support the Institute’s plan to deepen its network and engagements in Africa. Leaders on this council will lend their expertise and provide a high-level overview of Africa’s evolving business landscape for Milken Institute’s wide-ranging network and stakeholders who wish to amplify their engagement in the region.

Clinical trials can provide the possibility to obtain novel treatments for conditions and diseases that are not yet commercially available. Yet, these lifesaving treatments are often difficult or impossible to reach due to the physical distance to the clinical trial site. This is especially true for people in rural parts of the country. That’s according to a new report by the Milken Institute, Distance as an Obstacle to Clinical Trial Access: Who is Affected and Why It Matters.

The Milken Institute today celebrated the latest class of its Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Fellowship program at its 2024 Global Conference in Los Angeles. The fellowship program, now in its second year, empowers undergraduate students from HBCUs by providing opportunities for professional development, networking, and personal growth in the financial services sector.

The Milken Institute announced new initiatives to shape the future of health through partnerships and collaboration at its 2024 Global Conference in Los Angeles. The initiatives build on the Institute’s long-standing work advancing preventative health and community-based biomedical research.

The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation today announced the winners of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy, a $2 million innovation competition to reward entrepreneurs working to expand access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable off-grid electricity in Africa. The winners were announced at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles.

U.S. business leaders and Americans alike are confronting significant geo-economic challenges, according to a new Milken Institute-Harris Poll report, “Building A Resilient America: The New Consensus for Action.” The findings illuminate the struggles leaders face as they navigate through economic instability, tech disruptions, and societal shifts. These challenges come with the task of marrying immediate pressures with long-term strategic ambitions with concerns about America's global position prompting 91% of business leaders to advocate for a concerted effort to bolster U.S. competitiveness in the global market.

The 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference opens Sunday, May 5 and will draw more than 4,500 attendees, including global leaders, C-suite executives from Fortune 500 companies, experts and innovators to discuss strategies aimed at shaping a shared future.

The Milken Institute today announced its program agenda and initial list of distinguished speakers for its 2024 Global Conference, taking place from May 5 – 8 at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, CA. Centered around the uniting theme of “Shaping a Shared Future,” the four-day event will convene influential leaders from around the world to discuss, explore and catalyze ideas to guide solutions to many of today’s global issues.

The Biswas Family Foundation, in partnership with the Milken Institute Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC), is pleased to announce the inaugural recipients of the Transformative Computational Biology Grant Program. Five multidisciplinary research teams will receive nearly $14 million total in grant funding for projects aiming to drive translational impact and the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) models in clinical settings for diagnosis and treatment. The awarded institutes and lead investigators are detailed below.

Optimism and opportunity, balanced against a world in flux are influencing global investment decisions, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Milken Institute. The Global Opportunity Index (GOI), released today, explores the global economic landscape to help businesses make foreign investment decisions and governments identify policies for attracting foreign capital.

Austin, Texas has demonstrated the best performance among large cities, according to the 2024 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities (BPC) Index, taking the top spot after an impressive three-year run by Provo–Orem, Utah. Among small cities, Idaho Falls, Idaho maintained the first position this year after earning the same spot in last year’s rankings. These cities’ rankings were fostered by strong job and wage growth and a robust high-tech presence.

Opening today, the 2023 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit gathers hundreds of speakers and attendees who are inspired to share ideas and advance work around this year’s theme: “Closing the Gap: Better Health for More People.”

Provo-Orem, Utah, for the 3rd consecutive year, has demonstrated the best performance among large cities, according to the 2023 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index. Among small cities, Idaho Falls, ID, regained the first position this year after falling to the fifth spot in last year’s rankings. These cities’ rankings were fostered by strong job and wage growth and a robust high-tech presence.

The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation today announced the winners of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech, the first of a series of multiyear, multimillion-dollar innovation competitions and programs to advance technological progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The prizes were awarded at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, California.

Starting today, the Milken Institute Global Conference opens and will gather 3,500 attendees, including C-suite executives from Fortune 500 companies, global leaders with the capital and influence to impact change, along with experts and innovators who are rethinking health, finance, technology, philanthropy, sports, and media.

Today, the Milken Institute announced the initial program agenda and speaker lineup for its upcoming 2023 Global Conference, April 30 – May 3, held at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, CA. The four-day event will focus on the theme: “Advancing a Thriving World.”

Alongside a cross-sectoral group of public and private partner organizations, the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets has launched the 10,000 Communities Initiative, a year-long campaign to help thousands of underserved urban and rural communities across the U.S. access the funding, capacity, and talent needed to support critical community infrastructure projects. The new initiative—announced following Milken Institute’s third annual Public Finance Forum on January 11-12, 2023—aims to expand an innovative solution to better capital deployment in historically underserved communities.

The Milken Institute’s third annual Public Finance Forum will bring together more than 250 innovators, influencers, and partners from both the public and private sectors to address key topics at the intersection of policy, finance, risk management, and technology. This year’s forum will be held at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC, on January 10-12, 2023.

Beginning today, the 2022 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit will convene in-person for the first time since 2019. The summit, which runs December 6-8 at the Salamander in Washington, DC, will gather hundreds of attendees, including global community leaders, government officials, and researchers to turn the lessons learned over the past few years into a healthier, more equitable, and sustainable future for us all.

According to the Milken Institute’s Best Performing Cities and Microbusiness Activity report, expanding broadband infrastructure can have a pivotal role in promoting economic opportunities and unleashing entrepreneurial potential within local economies by, among other things, increasing electronic payment processing and the ability to set-up online businesses. With more than $65 billion slated to bring broadband access to millions more Americans via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the time is ripe for individuals and communities to reimagine their futures.

At the Milken Institute Global Conference today, the Milken Institute and The Harris Poll released findings from their third annual Listening Project, in which, despite widespread geopolitical and global market volatility, business leaders expressed optimism in their own company’s future financial performance and in the strength of the U.S. economy.

Beginning today, the 25th annual Milken Institute Global Conference will gather approximately 3,500 attendees, including C-suite executives from Fortune 500 companies, global leaders, and innovators with the capital and influence to change the world, along with those whose expertise and creativity are rethinking health, finance, technology, philanthropy, industry, and media.

Recognizing the most effective way to combat the next pandemic is to start planning for it now, FasterCures, a center of the Milken Institute, released key considerations and next steps for mobilizing an early warning system for global pandemic threats. “A Global Early Warning System for Pandemics: A Blueprint for Coordination” outlines governance, data, financing, and incentive considerations for creating an early warning system.

Provo-Orem, Utah, for the second consecutive year, has demonstrated the best economic performance among large cities, according to the 2022 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index. Logan, Utah, moved from No. 2 in 2021 into the top spot among small cities in 2022. These top-tier rankings mark the state of Utah’s continued success at creating jobs and raising wages. The Index, published annually since 1999, is the first of its kind to include pandemic-year data from 2020 to evaluate the performance of US cities in the context of the global health crisis.

The Milken Institute is extending its presence with the relocation of Alexandra Schueler, Director of Business and Program Development, to South Florida. With a growing business economy that spans various industries, South Florida is a prime market to build on the Institute’s mission of connecting people, organizations, and resources to accelerate solutions to many global challenges.

The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation today announced the 25 teams receiving Finalist prizes for the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech. The competition will award USD $2 million in total prizes for innovative solutions to increase economic value to farmers in Africa. At this stage, each Finalist team will receive $10,000 to further develop and test their designs.

Malaysia ranks No. 1 in emerging Southeast Asia as the country with the most potential to attract foreign investors, according to the 2022 Milken Institute Global Opportunity Index. This annual assessment, created to help inform investor and policymaker global investment decisions, evaluates an economy’s investment landscape using variables such as macroeconomic outlook, access to financial services, the potential for future innovation and development, and more.

As the COVID-19 pandemic consumes the world’s collective focus, patients continue to suffer from a variety of conditions. The 2021 Milken Institute Partnering for Patients Forum, December 6-7, will convene patient groups and industry leaders to discuss advancing desperately needed biomedical innovation and keeping patients at the center of research and development.

The 24th annual Milken Institute Global Conference begins tomorrow and will convene some of the best minds in the world around the theme “Charting a New Course.” This multi-day event hosted at the Beverly Hilton will be conducted in compliance with federal and local guidelines for COVID-19 safety protocols, including required vaccination and testing. It provides a much-needed opportunity for global leaders to gather and address critical problems in financial markets, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), education, entertainment, food sustainability, climate, and much more.

As part of its ongoing work to elevate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as a core business principle, the Milken Institute’s Center for Financial Markets today announced the launch of a new program designed to improve diversity and promote an inclusive culture within asset management institutions for women and Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC).

The Milken Institute Future of Health Summit kicks off tomorrow, drawing more than 1,000 leaders from government, academia, business, philanthropy, tech, and the private sector. Over the course of two days, conversations will examine lessons learned from the past year and how these can be applied to advance science, medical care, and public health for years to come.

The Milken Institute today released a set of strategies outlining how corporations, large financial institutions, philanthropic organizations, and governments can leverage mission-focused lenders to better meet the needs of underserved communities.

FasterCures, a center of the Milken Institute, today released a set of recommendations that can be used to mobilize an early warning system for global pandemic threats. The authors call for greater cross-sector collaboration, better data sharing and transparency, more private sector involvement, and local, in-country ownership of surveillance capabilities, among other solutions.

The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation today launched the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize program, a multi-year initiative to focus global innovators and entrepreneurs on developing technological solutions that accelerate progress towards implementing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a spotlight on the African continent. This program will include multiple technology prize competitions in the areas of agriculture, energy, education, and health.

The Milken Institute Global Conference, an annual convening of global leaders in government, finance, health, academia, and philanthropy, will take place this fall from October 17-20, 2021 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

The Milken Institute’s Center for Strategic Philanthropy and the Baszucki Brain Research Fund today announced the launch of a dedicated grant program aimed at advancing therapeutic discovery for bipolar disorder (BD). The goal is to fund research with the potential to improve treatment options for affected individuals.

The Milken Institute today released a new report highlighting innovative public and private sector solutions that can expand long-term care access and delivery for middle-income Americans. Published in collaboration with Genworth, “New Approaches to Long-Term Care Access for Middle-Income Households” examines financing, technology, and care challenges of the current system and offers recommendations to overcome these barriers.