In a year when billionaires are hot political targets, and Wall Street leaders openly worry about the future of capitalism, many are about to take refuge among friends in sunny California.
Buyout titans, bankers, politicians, entertainment moguls and even professional athletes are among hundreds set to gather at the Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles starting this weekend. With democratic socialists propelling the national news and presidential candidates debating how much more to tax the rich, the event has adopted a theme that touches on those concerns: “Driving shared prosperity.”
But for many attendees, the main purpose is still purely business. Some prominent Milken-goers said they prefer the Los Angeles conference to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, because it attracts more giants of industry looking to do deals rather than talking about ways to change the world.
“In Davos, you’re much more inclined to be subject to the whims of the globe,” said Eric Cantor, the former House majority leader now at boutique investment bank Moelis & Co. Milken “is much more of a gathering of people who are seriously looking to deploy capital.”
Ticket Perks
Just attending is something of an investment. Tickets start at $15,000 and can run three times that amount, depending on seating and other perks, such as use of an executive lounge.
“I have at least seven bankers in addition to myself coming,” said Mark Fedorcik, co-president of Deutsche Bank AG’s investment bank. He hosts an annual dinner where dozens of major clients typically catch a glimpse of Michael Milken, the event’s founder. Fedorcik said he made contacts at past conferences who have repeatedly brought deals to his bank. “Yes, it is about business.”
The bash lures an unusual concentration of wealth. At least 11 speakers on the agenda are listed on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a combined net worth exceeding $100 billion. Among them are Apollo Global Management LLC’s Leon Black, Blackstone Group LP’s Steve Schwarzman and Colony Capital Inc.’s Tom Barrack. And that doesn’t count the audience, where people with 10 figures in their net worth can roam discreetly.
Bank leaders including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Solomon and Wells Fargo & Co. Chief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry also are slated to speak. Some of their biggest clients may be in the room.
Drexel Alumni
Rich Ditizio, president of the Milken Institute, said that attendees including representatives from pension giants and sovereign wealth funds control about $23 trillion in capital. Milken has become “a financial think tank” that weaves together industries and topics, he said.
“I’ve been to Davos, all of the others, and they are good,” Ditizio said. “But often you can go to a finance or media conference and be a little bit captive to their silo. At Milken, you really appreciate how interrelated these themes are.”