Latest Interviews
Showing 6151–6165 of 6,188 interview transcripts.
- Y Combinator32 min
Mark Zuckerberg at Startup School 2012
Launched in January 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz, the service leveraged mandatory .edu email verification to establish high-quality identity networks within elite universities before scaling its infrastructure through immediate ad revenue. The team prioritized rigorous data integrity and biological social modeling over rapid expansion, resulting in explosive adoption rates that reached millions of users while maintaining a debt-free financial structure. This organic growth eventually forced a strategic pivot in the summer of 2004, as the founders relocated to Palo Alto and transitioned from a college project to a permanent enterprise after realizing part-time management could not sustain the scaling user base.
- Y Combinator26 min
Hiroshi Mikitani at Startup School 2012
Founded in 1997 by Hiroshi Mikitani with $200,000 in self-funded capital, Rakuten achieved profitability within two months and went public in 2000 by rejecting the traditional venture capital model. The company now commands 35–40% of the Japanese e-commerce market and operates 38 distinct businesses globally, expanding its ecosystem through strategic acquisitions like Kobo and a dedicated focus on shop-centric merchant services. Driven by a "merchant-first" philosophy and a recent mandate to adopt English as the official corporate language, Rakuten continues to pivot toward digital content sales and mobile commerce while maintaining strict cultural alignment across its international operations.
- Milken Institute6 min
Najib Ghadbian on Syria
Following years of localized repression against the Damascus Spring and Damasco Declaration movements, the 2011 uprising in Daraa ignited a conflict that ultimately killed over 70,000 people and displaced nearly 4 million Syrians. To address this crisis, a 70-member opposition coalition recognized by 114 nations formed a mini-parliament to plan a transition government while General Salim Idris unified 80% of Free Syrian Army factions under the Supreme Military Council. These coordinated political and military structures now face the challenge of leading a nation where over one million citizens have fled abroad and the humanitarian toll continues to escalate.
- Milken Institute1h 24m
MI Forum: Modern-Day Magellan: JPL Director Charles Elachi
Dr. Charles Elachi, Director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, detailed the successful "Seven Minutes of Terror" landing of the Curiosity rover, which has confirmed the presence of essential chemical elements and ancient flowing water on Mars. The presentation highlighted the mission's scientific outcomes, including the discovery of non-oxidized surface material and the approval of future seismology and sample-return missions, while noting that the rover's nuclear power system is designed to operate for a decade. Elachi also projected that human exploration of Mars could commence within 20 to 25 years, citing technological advancements in fuel production and the ongoing development of the James Webb Space Telescope.
- Milken Institute7 min
Carlos Slim's Economic Advice
The speaker argues that Western economies face a structural crisis driven by demographic shifts and obsolete fiscal policies, necessitating a transition to a "new civilization" model. To address actuarially bankrupt pension systems and chronic deficits, the proposal advocates for privatizing state infrastructure through public-private partnerships and implementing a radical three-day, 11-hour workweek. This reform aims to expand labor participation, stimulate growth in service sectors, and ensure a sustainable transition where assets eventually revert to public ownership.
- Milken Institute51 min
Dinner Program - To Infinity and Beyond: Jeff Skoll Talks with Elon and Kimbal Musk (updated)
Jeff Skoll, Kimbal Musk, Elon Musk, Paul
At a panel introduced by Jeff Skoll, brothers Elon and Kimbal Musk detailed their divergent yet complementary ventures, ranging from early startups like Zip2 and PayPal to Elon's engineering firms SpaceX and Tesla and Kimbal's culinary and nonprofit initiatives. The discussion highlighted specific milestones such as the sale of PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion, Tesla's launch of the award-winning Model S, and The Kitchen Community's measurable impact on childhood nutrition and school test scores. Both founders reflected on their formative years in South Africa and Silicon Valley, emphasizing a shared philosophy that combines technological innovation with social responsibility through scalable, market-based solutions.
- Milken Institute55 min
A Conversation with Howard Marks and Mike Milken (updated)
Howard Marks, Mike Milken, Michael Milken
Historical analysis of major market crashes, including the 1973 Nifty Fifty collapse and the 2008 financial crisis, reveals that investors often suffer catastrophic losses by ignoring cyclical valuations and overestimating the safety of high-quality assets. The presentation further explains that long-term bond returns depend more on reinvestment rates than initial yields, while successful investing requires focusing on knowable factors like specific companies and demographics rather than unpredictable macro variables. Finally, the discussion highlights how Oaktree Capital Group sustains its long-term success through a firm culture rooted in specific ethical creeds, harmonious teamwork, and a succession strategy that prioritizes the perpetuation of values over individual founder skills.
- Milken Institute1h 15m
MI Forum: The Grace of Silence
Journalist Michele Norris presented her book *The Grace of Silence* at a KCRW forum, recounting how her family's unspoken trauma regarding her grandmother's "Aunt Jemima" performances and her father's 1946 police shooting in Birmingham revealed the protective function of silence in Black American history. Norris contrasted these personal narratives with systemic racial disparities and the "post-racial" myth, arguing that unaddressed historical trauma continues to shape contemporary inequities in employment and education. The event concluded with Norris advocating for a "National Day of Listening" to preserve such family oral histories, emphasizing that acknowledging these specific stories is essential for understanding national strength rather than dwelling in pain.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
MI Forum: Creating a World Without Poverty
Muhammad Yunus, Mike Milken, James McGowan, Betsy Zyman, Ross Duvall, Steve Barth
Founded by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to democratize access to capital, the Grameen Bank operates a unique microfinance model where 7.3 million borrowers, 97% of whom are women, own the institution itself. This structure inverts traditional banking by eliminating collateral and legal enforcement while utilizing social pressure to maintain repayment rates exceeding 98%, thereby extending credit to the world's poorest populations. Building on this foundation, Yunus has expanded into social business ventures like Grameen Danone and Grameen Shakti, which deliver essential services ranging from nutrition to solar energy without relying on external dividends.
- Milken Institute1h 24m
Where Is the Economy Headed? A View From the Presidential Campaigns
Michael J. Boskin, Leo Hindery, Jr., John McCain, Barack Obama, Mike Clouden, Peter Purcell
Economic advisors Leo Hendry for the Obama campaign and Michael Boskin for the McCain campaign engaged in a moderated policy dialogue at a Milken Institute event, debating critical issues including income inequality, the causes of the financial crisis, and the efficacy of global trade agreements. The participants presented divergent views on taxation, where Hendry advocated for repealing tax cuts for high earners to reduce deficits, while Boskin argued that such measures would harm the U.S. standard of living and cited technology rather than policy as the primary driver of inequality. Through structured opening statements and rebuttals, the forum highlighted deep disagreements on regulatory approaches to the mortgage crisis and the role of government intervention in stimulating the economy.
- Milken Institute11 min
Obama Campaign Manager Jim Messina Talks Big Data at the Milken Institute's 2013 Global Conference
The Obama 2008-2012 presidential campaigns established a data-driven paradigm by deploying over 160 analysts to build behavioral models that accurately predicted election outcomes across all 50 states within a 0.5% margin. Executing this strategy required massive nightly polling and A/B testing to allocate a billion-dollar budget efficiently, securing unprecedented support from undecided voters through personalized digital outreach and targeted social media simulations. While Republican opponents acknowledged a significant technical lag in these early years, the campaign's successors now focus on reinventing these tactics for the 2016 cycle to prevent stagnation in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
A Conversation with Barry Diller (updated)
Barry Diller outlines a strategic vision for the media industry that prioritizes disintermediation and open internet ecosystems to dismantle closed cable bundles and legacy publishing models. Through specific assessments of companies like Aereo, Netflix, and Google, he predicts that disruptive innovation will shift market power from incumbents resisting change to agile, consumer-centric platforms. Diller identifies critical leaders such as Rupert Murdoch and Jack Welch as exemplars of risk-taking and bureaucratic agility necessary to survive in this evolving landscape.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
A Conversation with Larry King and Carlos Slim (updated)
Mexican businessman Carlos Slim outlined his philosophy that wealth is a byproduct of solving problems rather than an end goal, while criticizing Western fiscal policies and obsolete education models for failing to address global underdevelopment. He advocated for privatizing public assets, extending retirement ages, and integrating technology into education to combat high youth unemployment in Latin America. Slim further detailed his foundation's targeted health and digital inclusion initiatives, defending his telecommunications empire against monopoly accusations as he prepares to leverage infrastructure partnerships for regional economic growth.
- Milken Institute58 min
The Role of Universities in Accelerating Bioscience Research
David Baltimore, Joel Burdick, James Economou, Michael Quick, Owen Witte, Stephen Mayo, Steve Mayo, Nick, Francis Collins, Remy, Joe Boistak, Charles, Eric Green, Ray Deshaies
A consortium of leading academic figures, including Nobel Laureate David Baltimore and experts from Caltech, UCLA, and USC, convened to evaluate the intersection of biological engineering and clinical translation in the face of funding constraints. The panel detailed successful strategies for "engineered immunity" projects, such as converting muscle cells into antibody producers and conducting early-stage human trials within university settings, while highlighting the critical need for interdisciplinary programs that bridge the gap between engineering PhDs and MDs. Despite progress, participants identified a persistent "valley of death" in early-stage financing and urged a cultural shift toward professional management and team-based funding mechanisms to sustain innovation.
- Milken Institute56 min
A Conversation with Howard Marks and Mike Milken
Howard Marks, Mike Milken, Michael Milken
Oaktree Capital employs historical market cycles and behavioral analysis to teach that asset quality is secondary to valuation, as demonstrated by repeated failures when investors extrapolate linear growth during bubbles like the Nifty Fifty and the 2008 crisis. By emphasizing that risk is often misperceived and that true success requires focusing on knowable fundamentals rather than unknowable macro trends, the firm structures its culture around team-based incentives to ensure long-term survival and client prioritization. This approach positions investors to profit by remaining aggressive when others are terrified and conservative when optimism dominates, effectively navigating market temperatures without relying on specific economic predictions.