For Immediate Release

Media Contact:
Geoffrey Moore
info@mikemilken.com

Michael Milken Statement in Response to Presidential Pardon

Los Angeles, February 18, 2020 … Following today’s announcement of a pardon by
President Trump, the philanthropist and financier Michael Milken said, “Lori and I, who recently
celebrated our 51st wedding anniversary, along with our children and grandchildren, are very
grateful to the President. We look forward to many more years of pursuing our efforts in medical
research, education and public health.”
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Since the 1970s, Milken has been a leader in advocating and supporting increased
national commitments to medical research. He co-founded the Milken Family Foundation in
1982. In addition to its health initiatives, the Foundation is known for the Milken Educator
Awards, America’s largest teacher recognition program, which has honored more than 2,800
outstanding educators. Mike and Lori Milken also established the Milken Scholars Program,
which to date has supported and provided lifetime mentoring for nearly 500 college-bound
students who have significant financial need and have also excelled academically, served their
communities and triumphed over major obstacles.
The Milken Institute, a separate organization, includes seven centers that host more than
200 annual events around the world as part of their efforts to increase global prosperity by
advancing collaborative solutions that widen access to capital, create jobs and improve health. A
wide range of disease-specific research organizations participate in the Institute’s FasterCures
center, whose mission is to accelerate progress against all life-threatening diseases. Rather than
focus on any one disease, FasterCures works to remove barriers to progress in the entire medical
research system.
Milken is also chairman of the Prostate Cancer Foundation and one of the founders of the
Melanoma Research Alliance. Fortune magazine called him “The Man Who Changed
Medicine.” His latest initiative, the Milken Institute Center for Advancing the American Dream,
currently under construction in Washington, DC, will celebrate achievements of leaders in health
and medicine, education, free enterprise, access to capital, entrepreneurship and innovation.
The Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University pursues
extensive prevention and wellness programs.
A full biography is at www.mikemilken.com.
 Michael Milken’s Major Initiatives
Over his 50-year career, Mike Milken’s highly successful efforts in medical research, education,
veterans programs, aging and public health have had a major positive impact on our society.
Fortune called him “The Man Who Changed Medicine.” His latest initiative, the Milken Institute
Center for the American Dream, celebrates the nation’s exceptionalism and free enterprise.

Medical Research
The Milken Institute’s FasterCures center, which addresses all life-threatening diseases – along
with the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) and Milken
Family Foundation (MFF) with specialized programs in areas like prostate cancer, melanoma
and epilepsy – have accelerated medical progress for decades. They have made public and
private research more efficient and productive by driving collaboration among researchers,
government, industry, philanthropists and patients.
 From 1982, when the Milken Family Foundation was founded, right through the most-recent
Future of Health Summit, Milken has emphasized getting to cures faster.
 He organized the first-ever National Cancer Summit in Washington.
 Milken led hundreds of thousands of Americans in a 1998 March that successfully called for
increased medical research funding.
 A Milken Institute bioscience retreat created the plan that Congress adopted in establishing
the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.
 The 2012 Celebration of Science focused government and industry on the payoff from
research.
 Milken’s Young Investigator Program has advanced careers of 500+ leading researchers.
 The PCF and MRA have supported every FDA-approved prostate cancer and melanoma drug
– producing a total of 22 new therapies – over the last 20 years.
 The PCF supported Dr. James Allison’s Nobel Prize-winning research on immune
checkpoint inhibitors that have saved thousands of lives.
 Soon after Milken established the PCF 27 years ago, he created an extensive prostate cancer
awareness and screening program with Major League Baseball. He has personally attended
400+ major league games, thrown our first pitches and given 600+ on-air interviews.
 The prostate cancer death rate was rising and expected to keep rising as baby boomers grew
older. Then Milken began the PCF and instead of rising, deaths fell 50%, helping save some
500,000 lives.
 Education
 The Milken National Educator Award – called “the Oscars of Teaching” – has honored more
than 2,800 exemplary educators from every state and the District of Columbia to enhance the
quality of K-12 education.
 The Milken Scholars Program has created opportunities for nearly 500 future leaders from
low-income families. More than a scholarship program, it provides lifetime guidance and
mentoring for students who have excelled academically, served their communities and
triumphed over major obstacles. 99%+ graduation rate from colleges like Harvard, Stanford,
Yale, Berkeley and Penn.
 Mike’s Math Club has helped thousands of young inner-city kids learn techniques for
success.
 The Milken Institute and the World Bank’s International Finance Corp. address global
poverty and terrorism by bringing emerging nations’ future leaders to Washington for one-
year programs that teach them how to build their economies and create jobs.
Veterans Programs
 Every year, 12,000 more veterans are diagnosed with prostate cancer. A $50-million
partnership between Milken’s Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Department of Veterans
Affairs promotes research and assures that vets receive state-of-the-art genomic screening
and treatment at both the VA and leading comprehensive cancer centers.
Public Health
 The Milken Institute Center for Public Health launched a major focus on opioid addiction.
 A decade ago, an influential Milken Institute research report, “An Unhealthy America,”
underscored the trillions of dollars that poor health habits cost the nation. This fall, the
Institute published a major new report, “America’s Obesity Crisis,” showing that excess
weight alone imposes a $1.7 trillion cost on our economy.
 Milken led the funding to establish the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George
Washington University.
Aging Population
 The Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging focuses on the needs of senior citizens
for increasingly productive and meaningful lives.
The American Dream
 A Milken founding gift supported the National Museum of African American History and
Culture.
 The Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets has worked to expand skills development
and job creation through opportunity zones in depressed areas.
 The Milken Institute Center for Advancing the American Dream, under construction in
Washington, will inspire citizens through exhibits and stories of pioneers in education,
health, entrepreneurism and job-creating free enterprise. The Center will increase financial
literacy and show that the American Dream is alive, well and available to all with its message
of hope and opportunity.