"It would be a great mistake to write the epitaph of this country. We just have to get out of denial and get back into the future business," President Clinton told the Global Conference audience.
Elias Zerhouni of Sanofi, Margaret Hamburg of the FDA and the Institute's Mike Milken share a light moment during a discussion about accelerating medical innovation.
Relations between China and Brazil look chummy as Brazilian entrepreneur Eike Batista needles China Investment Corp.'s Xi-Qing Gao during the Global Overview panel.
Institute Chairman Mike Milken hands economist Nouriel Roubini a 1 million lira coin, which Roubini joked "might be worth a couple of bucks probably once Italy goes back to the lira."
The hallways of the Beverly Hilton are a blur of activity during the Global Conference.
Economist Niall Ferguson (left) and investor Jeff Greene may be smiling, but there were fireworks on the American Dream panel. In the background are former Congressman Harold Ford Jr. and Charles Murray (far right).
Mellody Hobson of Ariel Investments offers some strategies for unleashing the growth potential of women-owned businesses during a private session on capital access and job creation.
Nathan Michael details how his team at the University of Pennsylvania has created flying robots that can make decisions without human interaction. They can create 3-D maps with applications ranging from search-and-rescue or military missions to manufacturing.
California Gov. Jerry Brown gives his views on California's many challenges during a private discussion hosted by the Milken Institute's California Center.
Not so long ago in a ballroom not that far away the man who created the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" franchises, George Lucas, spent time with Mike Milken.
Sherry Lansing of The Sherry Lansing Foundation and A. Barry Rand of AARP tell their own stories during a session on encore careers.
Economist Dambisa Moyo makes a point during a discussion of the commodities market.
Social entrepreneurs Kimbal Musk (left) of The Kitchen Community and Shawn Amos of Amos Content Group discuss how to raise awareness - and money - for crucial causes.
Fans clamor to take photographs during the Late Night session with entertainers David Foster and Lionel Richie.
You're gonna like what public-private partnerships can achieve, says Men's Wearhouse Executive Chairman George Zimmer. He guarantees it.
U.S. Sen. Max Baucus (right) is interviewed by Milken Institute Senior Managing Director Bradley Belt at an invitation-only event.
Steve Forbes (left), a longtime proponent of the flat tax, and former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin weigh various approaches to reforming the U.S. tax code - a loaded issue in an election year.
A popular media event, the Global Conference helps bring the world economy into sharper focus.
"Americans don't appreciate how much the world looks to us," Richard Haass (left) of the Council on Foreign Relations tells Walter Isaacson of the Aspen Institute. Our moral authority rests not on military might, but on the example we set, he said.
Georgette Mosbacher of Borghese Inc. Worldwide talks about the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship and the challenges women continue to face in business with Linda Rottenberg of Endeavor and Leila Velez of Beleza Natural.
Seth Merrin of Liquidnet (right) and Raymond McGuire of Citi join the debate about how to promote greater access to capital and what opportunities might result from the subsequent opening of new markets.
A fish-eye lens offers a slightly skewed view of the Global Conference registration area.
A distinguished panel that includes Willem Buiter of Citigroup, Terry Duffy of CME Group, Maria Bartiromo of CNBC, Mohamed El-Erian of PIMCO and Kevin Warsh of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors assesses where economic growth will come from.
Pollster Frank Luntz keeps the audience engaged with his interactive demonstrations of how the right choice of words can frame the debate.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce promotes its "Hiring Our Heroes" initiative, one of the many sponsor exhibits at Global Conference.
When he became CEO of AT&T in 2007, Randall Stephenson says, some in the company were skeptical about his declaration that mobile was the company's future. Then came the iPhone.
Lionel Richie and David Foster perform a duet at Monday's Late Night session after sitting down for an interview with Institute Chairman Mike Milken.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) expresses misgivings about the potential role of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the U.S. housing market.
Dish Network's Charlie Ergen (left) listens as News Corp.'s Chase Cary describes the distribution models that deliver content in different markets around the world.
Freda Lewis-Hall of Pfizer discusses methods for hurdling obstacles in the drug pipeline.
Philanthropist Eli Broad signs a copy of his book, "The Art of Being Unreasonable: Lessons in Unconventional Thinking."
Steven Rattner, the Obama administration's former "car czar," recounts his experiences in leading the auto industry from the depths of the financial crisis back to health.
Economist Raghuram Rajan gives his views on the host of global trends that might pose challenges to the capitalist system.
Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, takes a turn at the piano during the Late Night session with David Foster and Lionel Richie.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand discusses how to increase access to capital and resources for female business owners during an invitation-only discussion.
Aneesh Chopra, who recently served in the White House as the nation's first chief technology officer, discusses what companies need to know about the new rules of innovation.
Hosting a conversation with women philanthropists, author Angella Nazarian shares a laugh with Nancy Aossey, president and CEO of International Medical Corps.
Scott Sperling of Thomas H. Lee Partners spars with some of the heavyweights of private equity.
James McCaughan of Principal Global Investors lays out market predictions.
Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.) discusses the importance of bridging the partisan divide that has rendered Congress ineffective.
A view of Los Angeles was the backdrop for many open-air receptions on the rooftop terrace of the Beverly Hilton.
DARPA's Jay Schnitzer (the real-life version of James Bonds' "Q") describes amazing technologies that include monkeys with robotic arms and transferring one mouse's memories to another. Only the video can do it justice.
Bonin Bough, Kraft's digital guru, and the X PRIZE'S Peter Diamandis speculate on the ramifications of population growth on the Crowded Planet panel.
With world population likely to reach 10 billion later this century, Nobel laureate Myron Scholes assesses how employment might play out.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor takes part in a private meeting organized by the Milken Institute's Center for Financial Markets.
The best thing a CEO can do is to "get your company out of the way of your performers and innovators," says Clear Channel's Bob Pittman.
Participants take advantage of the comfortable couches and the occasional complimentary smoothie in the Global Conference Pavilion.
Investor Charles Y.S. Liu cracks up during a light moment in an otherwise weighty panel on the new U.S.-China power balance.
CNBC's Brian Sullivan moderated a discussion on global energy markets featuring Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a passionate advocate for deploying America's abundant natural gas reserves as a transportation fuel.
What is Web 3.0, and how will it reshape our behavior? Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell, now with a venture fund that invests in disruptive technologies, weighs in on the debate.
Abby Cohen of the Global Markets Institute at Goldman Sachs joins the debate on accelerating growth in Israel while expanding economic inclusion at the "Israeli paradox" session.
Michael Milken's panel on Credit Markets is an annual highlight of Global Conference, bringing together a group of influential capital market leaders for a high-level discussion on trends in corporate and sovereign financing.
Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, discusses what cities and states can do to support entrepreneurs.
David Kirchoff of Weight Watchers International says physicians play a key role in obesity prevention, noting that "nobody else can even come close to a doctor in creating a sense of urgency and accountability among individuals."
Julie Sunderland of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation joins a discussion on magnifying the impact of philanthropy.
Investor T. Boone Pickens is interviewed by one of the many media outlets that cover the Global Conference.
In the Tuesday night dinner panel, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels deftly deflects a question about whether he'll be the Republican vice presidential nominee.
John Calamos Sr. of Calamos Investments discusses market risks to watch in the year ahead.
Penny Low, a member of Singapore's Parliament, describes the strategies that have made her nation a hub of innovation.
