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Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent has launched Michael Milken’s annual financial bash at Beverly Hills by doubling President Trump’s economic policies on trade reform, tax cuts and deregulation.
The former hedge fund manager said in a brief speech on Monday, which launched the Milken Institute Global Conference, that all three elements of the policy must be put together to understand.
“They are the interlocking parts of the engine designed to encourage long-term investment in the American economy,” he said in a statement at Beverly Hilton.
“Taxes are designed to encourage businesses like you to invest directly in the US. You can hire your workers here, build your factory here, and make products here because we have the most productive labor in the world, but we have the most favorable tax and regulatory environment right away,” he said.
Bescent telegraphed his speech in an opinion piece published Sunday in the Wall Street Journal, which built the same point.
In a conversation with Milken, the institute’s chair and founder, he said one key goal was regulatory reforms that “make everyone look like Texas,” reducing government borrowings, reducing the deficit by about 1% per year, down to a long-term average of 3.1% for national products.
Bescent’s appearance was not without drama. The New York Post reported that Trump envoy Richard Grenell had organized a Sova in the nearby five-star peninsula Beverly Hills Sunday afternoon, featuring Bescent, who competed directly with a conference reception hosted by hedge fund magnate Ken Griffin.
Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel’s billionaire, is extremely critical of tariffs and will help him close the meeting with Milken late Wednesday afternoon.
This is the 28th annual global conference hosted by the Santa Monica Think Tank, which seeks to adopt a capitalist model to solve global economic, social, technological and health issues. Over 200 sessions, 1,000 speakers and around 4,000 participants can pay thousands of people for tickets.
“While these challenges don’t lack, there are often resources and techniques to address these issues, what often lacks is finding a common will to do so.” “In a world that has produced $500 trillion in wealth, how else can you explain that one in every 11 people on Earth lives for less than $2 a day, or that tuberculosis, a completely preventable and curable disease, killed 1.3 million people last year?”
This year’s meeting, with the theme of “Toward a Prosperous Future,” is taking place amid the enormous uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs, as the US stock market is on track to make a comeback as Trump recently suspended several taxes. Several LA-based toy makers, importers and retailers have been caught up in the crossfire of Trump’s trade war.
Four months after the devastating Los Angeles fire, the event will feature Mayor Karen Bass’ Wednesday afternoon panel, “Rising Strong: The Road to Los Angeles Recovery.” Members of the panel include Los Angeles County supervisor Lindsey Horvas and Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc.
In separate sessions, Lakers superstar and businessman Magic Johnson talk about the future of LA, while California’s first partner, Jennifer Sebel Newsom, has a conversation with celebrity chef Jose Andre about disaster recovery.
It’s not just Trump administration officials attending the meeting. Others include Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who is leading a controversial effort to dismantle the education sector.
Recently, Elon Musk, whom he said is backing from his Doge government’s cost-cutting efforts, was a slow addition to the speaker lineup. He attended last year as well.
Among the Wall Street celebrities on stage is Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser. Henry Kravis and George Roberts, co-founder of private equity pioneer KKR. David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlisle Group. Hedge fund magnate Bill Ackman is a leading supporter of Trump who sought a trade deal with China.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will probably talk to Milken about the artificial intelligence boom. Santa Clara Company makes chips important for AI computing. Bessent said it is important for a country to lead with AI and quantum computing or “everything else is not important.”
Bloomberg News contributed to this article.
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