Michael Milken

Mike Milken has been at the forefront of successful initiatives in medical research, education, public health and access to capital for more than five decades. In 2026, Forbes ranked Mike No. 19 on its list of America’s Greatest Innovators, individuals who “best embody the nation’s creative spirit.” In 1982 he formalized his philanthropy by co-founding the Milken Family Foundation, and a decade later launched the Milken Institute, which in addition to its Global Conference each spring in Los Angeles, hosts more than 250 events globally. Mike also founded and chairs FasterCures, which works to speed progress against all life-threatening diseases, and the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University was established in 2014. His latest book, Faster Cures: Accelerating the Future of Health, chronicles his personal journey and progress in medical research and public health. The Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream – housed in an historic Washington, DC building complex across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House and Treasury – celebrates the ideal that everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, should have the opportunity to pursue a meaningful life. As a financier, Mike revolutionized modern capital markets by pricing and rewarding risk more efficiently; the thousands of companies he financed created millions of jobs. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, he earned his M.B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He and his wife Lori have been married since 1968 and have been members of the Giving Pledge since the organization’s founding in 2010; they have three children and 10 grandchildren. More information is at www.mikemilken.com.

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