Musk, Beckham, Kutcher Join Milken Global Conference In Beverly Hills

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Elon Musk, retired soccer star David Beckham and actor Ashton Kutcher were among Monday's scheduled participants as the Milken Institute's 27th annual Global Conference begins in Beverly Hills.

President Javier Milei of Argentina was scheduled to speak at a luncheon while Queen Rania Al Abdullah was interviewed by MSNBC chief correspondent Ali Velshi.

Beckham and Jamie Salter, the founder, chairman and CEO of Authentic Brands Group, were scheduled to be interviewed by Michael Milken, the one-time junk bond king who is chairman of the Milken Institute, about scaling Beckham's brand through strategic endorsements, digital and media partnerships and more.

Beckham is a partner and shareholder of Authentic Brands Group, the world's largest sports and entertainment licensing company.

Milken was also slated to interview Musk.

Former British Prime Minister Theresa May and former Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez participated in a discussion on "The State of the World: Conflict and Accord," moderated by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.

May also discussed her book, "The Abuse of Power: Confronting Injustice in Public Life."

Márquez was part of a panel on "Rewriting the Rules of Global Conservation."

Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Arizona, also participated in a discussion on "Leadership and the State of American Politics."

Manchin also participated in a discussion with Chevron Chairman and CEO Michael Wirth and Jigar Shah, the director of the U.S. Energy Department's Loan Programs Office. David Westin, anchor of Bloomberg Television's "Wall Street Week," was the moderator.

Manchin is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Kutcher was part of a panel on "AI: Hope, Hype and Headwinds." The actor is a co-founder of two venture capital firms.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was to be interviewed by MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart on "Transforming the Future of Work."

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, now his nation's ambassador to the United States, was part of a panel on "The Geopolitics of AI."

The theme of the conference is "Shaping a Shared Future."

"In a world that at times feels fractured, our theme for this year's conference is a reminder that despite the challenges we face, we are united in our aspirations for a better tomorrow," Milken Institute CEO Richard Ditizio said.

"If we view these issues as problems needing to be solved, we can together move the innovative ideas and financial capital required to craft solutions. The Global Conference brings people together to do just that."

The conference at The Beverly Hilton was expected to draw more than 4,500 attendees. It began Sunday with seven invitation-only sessions and four welcoming events and will run through Wednesday.

The conference's more than 200 public sessions will be streamed at www.globalconference.org. The livestream schedule is available at milkeninstitute.org/events/global-conference-2024/livestream

The Milken Institute bills itself as a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank focused on accelerating measurable progress on the path to a meaningful life, with a focus on financial, physical, mental and environmental health.

City News Service