Philanthropist, financier and innovator Michael Milken is redefining the American Dream as something deeper than financial success.
“What is essential to the American Dream?” Milken asked in an exclusive interview on “Mornings with Maria” Friday. “Freedom to live your life is essential. And when you ask what is not essential? Personal wealth.”
“Wealth doesn’t bring happiness,” he reiterated, recalling the story of a man who found his dream not on Wall Street but on the sidelines. “And I was just looking at this video of an individual who told me he achieved his American Dream by coaching his daughter’s soccer team.”
Across the street from the White House, the Milken Institute is opening an exhibition called the “Center for Advancing the American Dream.” The interactive gallery mixes bold ideas with stories and technology to “visualize your potential in new ways,” according to its website.
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“For a person that never knew their father, [they] can come and look at stories of people that never knew their fathers,” Milken said. “They can see this tree of generations. They can put their picture up, their parents’ picture, their kids. And they can think about what it means to have freedom and live in America.”
In addition to symbolizing family, roots and continuity, the exhibit spotlights four pillars of legacy and shared values: education, entrepreneurship, health and finance.
“Unfortunately, still in America, your life expectancy is still related to your ZIP code. We have to deliver this message that quality health care is available to all,” Milken explained, moving onto the entrepreneurship pillar. “Those unusual people who think of new ideas and new ways of doing things, those are their stories.”
“You could have dreams, but those dreams don’t necessarily come true if no one will loan you money… 40 to 50 years or more before Carrier, there was a doctor who needed to cool operating rooms, and he created air-conditioning, but no one would give him money. And so his idea never became a reality.”
Education “underpins all of it,” Milken noted of the final pillar: “What we’ve found over 50 years is, the most important factor for a person outside of the home is the teacher and the classroom. We have a story here… of a young woman who was very hard of hearing and almost deaf. And when she was in school, they told her she would never amount to anything because of her disability. Well, she had a teacher that took her in.”
Milken said he hopes the project will connect legacy to younger generations who seek opportunity defined not by money, but by family, health and community.
“What we hope is that this is a symbol of hope that everyone can come in here… and they can think about what it means to have freedom and live in America.”
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