29th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference Special: Day Three

Summary

Balance of Power – Bloomberg Episode: 29th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference Special: Day Three Date: May 6, 2026

---

Episode Overview

On the final day of the Milken Institute Global Conference, hosts Carol Massar and Joe Mathieu (Bloomberg Washington correspondents) conducted several back-to-back interviews with influential guests from politics, sports, and business. The conversations spanned geopolitics—especially the Middle East, strategies in battling antisemitism, the economics of elite sports, healthcare affordability, and the evolving business of motorsports. The show's tone is fast-paced, insightful, and friendly, with an eye toward connecting policy, business, and culture.

---

Key Segments & Discussion Points

---

1. The Middle East, Iran, and the Pursuit of Peace

Guests:

• Ted Deutch – CEO, American Jewish Committee; former U.S. Representative (FL)

Main Topics

• New Memo of Understanding on the Strait of Hormuz and Middle East peace
• The bipartisan consensus on Iran as “the greatest impediment to peace” in the region
• The U.S., Israel, and regional allies’ roles in shaping the outcome
• The risks and expectations from a prospective peace framework

Notable Quotes & Insights

“When it comes to Iran, there has always been bipartisan recognition that Iran is the greatest impediment to peace in the region. ... So when we look at where this is going, we have to think about all of this together. It has to be comprehensive.”
—Ted Deutch [01:58]

“You can put words to paper, but you got to have the actions in place to make it all happen.”
—Joe Mathieu [05:41]

• Iran's nuclear capability is the top concern, but missiles, terror proxies, and Iranian aggression must also be addressed.
• Regional actors like UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia will need to pressure Iran to commit to peace.
• Israel, though “an important part of this analysis,” is not seen as able to block a deal driven by U.S. priorities.

“The idea that we went to war here was driven by the President. ... Israel is an ally. But ultimately the United States is making decisions in consultation with allies.”
—Ted Deutch [05:49]

Timestamps

• Introduction & memo discussion: [01:02–02:56]
• Can Israel block peace? [02:56–06:19]
• Parallel with North Korea, shared nuclear anxieties: [07:24–07:47]

---

2. Antisemitism and Social Cohesion in the U.S.

Guest: Ted Deutch

Main Topics

• Alarming new statistics from the American Jewish Committee:
  • 86% of Jewish Americans feel antisemitism is rising
  • Nearly half of young American Jews report being targeted in the past year
• The global surge in antisemitism post-October 7, 2023
• The toxic influence of social media and political polarization
• Confronting hate affecting all communities, not just Jews

Notable Quotes & Moments

“Anti-Semitism isn’t new…What we’ve seen since October 7th is this explosion of anti-Semitism around the world, violent attacks on Jews.”
—Ted Deutch [08:32]

“Social media companies cannot become algorithmic hate machines. And that’s what’s happening.”
—Ted Deutch [10:00]

• The importance of enforcing digital platform standards and confronting conspiracy theories
• Need for a collective societal response against all forms of hate

Timestamps

• Antisemitism data/discussion: [07:47–09:41]
• Social media’s role and solutions: [10:00–10:44]

---

3. The Business and Culture of U.S. Ski & Snowboard

Guests:

• Breezy Johnson – U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist, Alpine Skiing
• Trisha Worthington – Chief Revenue & Philanthropy Officer, U.S. Ski & Snowboard

Main Topics

• Funding challenges: Balance between private giving and corporate sponsorship
• Athlete perspective on income sources: helmet/title sponsors, NIL deals (Name/Image/Likeness), equipment sponsors, and appearance fees
• Growth strategies for a high-cost, less accessible sport
• Spotlight on the surging profile of women’s sports and their “undervalued asset” status
• Advice to young athletes from less affluent backgrounds

Notable Quotes & Moments

“Winning an Olympic Gold medal…there’s a lot of pieces that need to come together. Ski racing in particular is very much, you know, it’s, I think, more similar to a Formula One operation than, like, what most people would expect from an Olympic operation…once every four years is definitely a challenge.”
—Breezy Johnson [14:32]

“I think people are now seeing that investing in women's sports through marketing is…a much better return. Whereas I think with men’s sports...it's not undervalued in the same way that women’s sports is.”
—Breezy Johnson [18:16]

"There is a sport for everyone. ... Just trying a lot of different sports is what I would recommend to a lot of people."
—Breezy Johnson [19:10]

Timestamps

• Funding & sport economics: [13:00–13:57], [15:03–16:33]
• Women in Sports / Representation: [17:13–19:01]
• Access, advice to young athletes: [19:01–19:52]

---

4. Healthcare Affordability and Fraud

Guest:

• Dr. Mehmet Oz

Main Topics

• The crisis of affordability: “One in three Americans...cannot fill” their prescriptions due to cost
• American drug prices are 3x that of Europe—even for identical medications
• Initiative to improve access: TrumpRX.gov's negotiated pricing and drug price transparency
• Systemic fraud in healthcare: especially the proliferation of dubious hospices in LA
• Impact of fraud on Medicare's viability and overall system integrity

Notable Quotes & Moments

“When you can’t afford health care, that destroys the basic covenant you have with America. ... One in three Americans, after they see their doctor, get a prescription, go to the pharmacy, cannot fill it.”
—Dr. Mehmet Oz [21:16]

“We pay three times more…for drugs made even in this country, bottled here, than Europeans are paying for those exact same products.”
—Dr. Mehmet Oz [21:40]

“One in three hospices in the entire country are here in Los Angeles…When you see those kinds of variances in utilization, you start to suspect fraud.”
—Dr. Mehmet Oz [22:54]

Timestamps

• Health care affordability: [21:02–22:08]
• TrumpRX.gov & fraud in hospice care: [22:10–24:06]
• Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term impacts: [25:19–26:17]

---

5. The Future of NASCAR & Global Motorsports

Guests:

• Jeff Gordon – Hall of Fame NASCAR driver, Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports
• Ben Kennedy – Executive VP, Chief Venue and Racing Innovation Officer, NASCAR

Main Topics

• NASCAR’s business strategy after COVID: modernizing its cars, schedule, and broadcast partners
• Expansion beyond US borders: races in Mexico City, potential global growth
• Collaborations with Amazon Prime and TNT to broaden distribution and reach younger audiences
• The influence of Formula One’s US popularity as a “rising tide”
• Involvement from major celebrities/owners like Michael Jordan
• The importance of bringing in new OEMs (car manufacturers) domestically and internationally

Notable Quotes & Moments

“Ever since COVID we had a bit of a paradigm change, you know, as far as leadership goes. ... We had our new meteorites agreement that kicked off last year. Amazon Prime is covering five races during the summer. And it’s been great from a distribution perspective and giving us an opportunity to get to some of those younger audience.”
—Ben Kennedy [29:14]

“If motorsports is growing, I think everybody’s growing along with it.”
—Ben Kennedy [30:28]

“Amazon Prime…they can come on whenever they want and leave whenever they want. So they’ve been really intentional about creating pre-race shows, post-race shows.”
—Jeff Gordon [34:01]

“As an owner, it’s great to have Michael [Jordan] so engaged…and I think it’s only going to help the whole sport grow.”
—Ben Kennedy [34:38]

Timestamps

• Business & audience growth: [29:06–30:02]
• F1’s influence & global strategy: [30:17–32:34]
• Streaming & broadcast innovations: [33:18–34:17]
• Michael Jordan in NASCAR: [34:17–35:10]

---

Memorable Moments

• [01:58] Ted Deutch’s concise summary of Iran’s place in regional security: “They violate the human rights of their own people. They export terror in addition to the nuclear program and in addition to ballistic missiles.”
• [14:32] Breezy Johnson comparing Olympic ski racing organization to Formula 1 in terms of complexity and costs.
• [21:16] Dr. Oz: “When you can’t afford health care, that destroys the basic covenant you have with America.”
• [34:01] Jeff Gordon on new media deals: “You’re not beholden to any broadcast windows...they can come on whenever they want and leave whenever they want.”
• [34:38] Ben Kennedy on Michael Jordan’s impact in the sport.

---

Conclusion

Episode highlights included expert perspectives on the interconnectedness of geopolitics, policy, and culture—from dangerous flashpoints in the Middle East to the struggle with antisemitism at home, the business and access challenges facing Olympic-level sports, the urgent need for reform in health care affordability and fraud, and the future-facing business innovations reshaping NASCAR. The show captured the vibrant, action-packed spirit of Milken’s “Day Three” and offered listeners a rich cross-section of what’s driving power, money, and change in 2026.

Transcript

[Adobe Advertiser]

Everyone has been there. Your team's feedback is scattered across emails, chats and sticky notes. It's a mess, but PDF spaces in Adobe Acrobat gives you one collaborative workspace to streamline every file and comment. So if you need six departments to finally agree on a proposal, do that with Acrobat. Need to turn a mountain of feedback into one plan of action. Do that with Acrobat. Want to stop searching for files and finally get everyone on the same page. Do that, do that, do that with Acrobat. Learn [e-mail] do that with Acrobat.

[Podcast Announcer]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio news. You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTub.

[Carol Massar]

It's Escape from L. A. The final day at Milken. Day three fly out day, as we like to call it in Washington, D.C. president saying that we've got a memo of understanding when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz that will gradually be reopened under this very sketchy framework. It's literally a one pager here, Carol, but the market's not waiting around to find out.

[Joe Mattey]

No, indeed. And I think we have a great guest also to talk about kind of the region and I think about Israel and their role in all of this.

[Carol Massar]

Yes, absolutely. The former Republican congressman, Democratic congressman from the state of Florida, Ted Deutsch, I didn't mean to do that to you. Is now CEO of the American Jewish Committee. And it's wonderful to see you here at Milk.

[Ted Deutsch]

Good to be here.

[Carol Massar]

Thanks for being with us on Bloomberg TV and Radio. You're engaged in a really important fight against anti Semitism right now, which I'm looking forward to asking you about. But this news today, I'm just wondering how you're interpreting this and whether you think we're getting way over our skis on hopes for peace.

[Ted Deutsch]

Well, most importantly, I chaired the Middle east subcommittee for a while when I was in Congress. And when it comes to Iran, there has always been bipartisan recognition that Iran is the greatest impediment to peace in the region. They violate the human rights of their own people. They export terror in addition to the nuclear program and in addition to the ballistic missiles. So when we look at where this is going, we have to think about all of this together. It has to be comprehensive. So right there is now this, this memo. The question is, where does the memo go? Where is it Taking us and it has to include, it has to include every piece of this. Yes, nuclear, top of the list. Iran can't be allowed of nuclear weapons. This is something that president after president, administrations of both parties have always made clear. But it also has to deal with ballistic missiles and it has to deal with terror proxies and it has to deal with, with the evil that this reg represented for so long.

[Joe Mattey]

To be fair, I think folks will say it's existential for Iran, it's existential for Israel. What's going on? What, where do you see Israel in this? Could they ultimately block this one pager if certain things aren't happening? Israel's been a little quiet as of late, but I just do wonder how much power they have in blocking any kind of peace accord happening.

[Ted Deutsch]

I think, look that the United States and Israel are close allies and there's cooperation and it's Israel obviously an important part of an important part of this analysis as an ally of the United States. So too are our other allies in the region.

[Joe Mattey]

But I don't think everybody has the same the US's goals and Israel's goals. I don't think they're the same.

[Ted Deutsch]

Oh, I think, I think there are, there are, it's, there are very clear shared goals. If you look at what's transpired, again, we have to zoom out a little bit in the region. There is this focus on the us, Israel and Iran. The, the country that's received the largest number of missiles and drone attacks is the United Arab Emirates. And for the UA and for all of the other countries throughout the region who have been on the receiving end of Iran's aggression, they have a great interest in making sure that whatever this deal looks like means that Iran can't have nuclear weapons and that we don't reward them and lift sanctions on and give them the ability to grow their ballistic missile program and to grow the other weapons that they use to be aggressive and threaten.

[Carol Massar]

Well, this is a really important part of the story when the President says that we're going to hand this over.

[Ted Deutsch]

Yeah.

[Carol Massar]

At some point pretty soon to neighbors in the region. We also know that uae, that Qatar, that Saudi Arabia are going to have to put pressure on Iran to make good on any deal. Is the region prepared for that?

[Ted Deutsch]

Well, I think the region understands because they've experienced what Iranian aggression looks like and, and if there's going to be

[Carol Massar]

that would be a new posture for them against.

[Ted Deutsch]

It's interesting where being here at, at Milken with the folks who are, who have been Walking throughout this conference and you were focused on markets. I mean, everyone I think, can acknowledge that the, the future in the Middle east is an integrated Middle east where you have the Abraham Accords countries, especially the uae, Bahrain, Israel, with the United States on one side and, and then Saudi and everyone else who will decide that being on the side of a more integrated region, more prosperity, a stronger future and with Iran on the other side is the way to go. So that means, yes, there's going to be a role that, that the region is going to play in making sure that this goes forward. But the United States isn't going to withdraw. In fact, this plan, this memorandum has to, it has to be a comprehensive way forward that includes not just talking about these issues, but understanding how each part of this is going to get it done.

[Joe Mattey]

Right. Yeah, you can put words to paper, but you got to have the actions in place to make it all happen. So let me go back to. Can Israel block a peace deal?

[Ted Deutsch]

Oh, I don't, I don't. And this is a, the idea that we went to war here was driven by the President. The President of the United States made the decision to go to war with Iran. This time Israel is an ally. But ultimately the United States is making decisions in consultation with allies about, about how this goes forward. And I think that's going to continue. You've seen this and in the ongoing conversations he had, he's had with leaders throughout the region, that's how, how the United States in working with its allies should have.

[Joe Mattey]

So that's a no. I'm just, you know, I don't think, you know, because I do think there has been reporting about, you know, what Israel needs to get out of this versus the U.S. there's been a lot of reporting about the president wanting to get out of this war already. He's kind of done with it.

[Ted Deutsch]

Yeah, well, but again, I think we're

[Joe Mattey]

not quite sure what the mission was. To be fair, if you walk, if

[Ted Deutsch]

you walk through the, what we're trying to, what, what we. Everyone is trying to get out of this, there's a shared desire, a shared goal of making sure that Iran can never have nuclear weapons again. That's not just this administration and, and the government in Israel. This is our two, this country, Israel and all of the players in the region. And it goes back and throughout American history, Administration, administration, back to 1979 since regime they can't have nuclear weapons. That's a shared goal. The ballistic missiles, the terror proxies. If you look at where we are now, since October 7, with Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis having now been exposed as these Iranian proxies and confronted, everyone has a shared interest in confronted.

[Joe Mattey]

It makes me wonder then, is North Korea next? Because nobody wants them to have nuclear weapons. And I know that's not necessarily your.

[Ted Deutsch]

No, no, that's actually a really important point because that's exactly the point. We can't allow, we, the United States, the world, can't allow, allow a situation where we get to the point where we wake up one morning and suddenly Iran has nuclear weapons. Then we're in the same kind of position that we're in with North Korea.

[Carol Massar]

Well, let's bring it home with some pretty troubling findings that you have brought from the American Jewish Committee. 86% of Jewish Americans feel anti Semitism has increased in the U.S. 63% of the general population, whereas nearly half of all young American Jews say they have been personal targets of anti Semitism just in the last year. What is going on in this country is that being influenced by geopolitics?

[Ted Deutsch]

Well, there are those who want to use geopolitics to somehow, I mean, you look at, at the attack in Michigan that was fortunately thwarted. But the, the idea that something that's happening 6,000 miles away somehow justifies an attack on the Jewish community here is outrageous. So it's not.

[Carol Massar]

But what's provoking this?

[Ted Deutsch]

Well, what's provoking. Look, you have to take a step back, first of all, and the anti Semitism isn't new. It's been around for thousands of years. And what we've seen over the past two and a half years, what we've seen since October 7th, is this explosion of anti Semitism around the world, violent attacks on Jews. It's been just about a year exactly, since, since Sarah Milgram and Jerome Lushinsky were murdered outside of an AJC event in Washington, D.C. by someone who was radicalized. I think we have to, if we're, if we're going to confront this issue, we have to deal with the toxic information flow on social media that has taken the conspiracy theories. Anti Semitism is a conspiracy theory. It's a hatred of Jews. And it uses whatever is happening at the time to help spread the hatred and the venom. And that's what we've seen. It also means, though I just have to say, antisemitism is never just about the Jewish community. It always suggests that there's something, there's a deeper problem. At a time of rising polarization, when political violence, sadly, is accepted, this is what we have to confront together.

[Joe Mattey]

That's where I wanted to go. LGBTQ community, the Muslim community. I just feel like there is no tolerance for just, if you're different than me. Men and women have had, you know, like, there's just been. But why, how do we fix this? You, you know, served in Congress, like, how do we fix this? And just got about 45, 60 seconds.

[Ted Deutsch]

Fix the world in a minute, 30 seconds. First look, first of all, at that, what I'm saying. I do. And I'm going to, I'm going to go back because we all have, we all have a responsibility that social media companies cannot become algorithmic hate machines. And that's what's happening. And then that leads to decisions being made by individuals and by politicians who think that what they see on there is what they somehow ought to emulate. What. And then that often leads to the violence that we've also seen in the real world. We have to confront this again here at Milken. This is not just social media companies. It's not just about enforcing their community standards. There's business risk for them. They have to do the right.

[Joe Mattey]

I have to say, people coming up to me like, hey, did you know that post that was just. That's all false? Yeah.

[Ted Deutsch]

Over and over.

[Joe Mattey]

Pleasure. Thank you for joining.

[Ted Deutsch]

Thanks so much to see. Yeah, thanks.

[Joe Mattey]

Of course. CEO of American Jewish Committee, Ted Deutsch, former representative in Congress.

[Carol Massar]

Stay with us on Balance of Power. We'll have much more coming up after this.

[Public.com Advertiser]

Support for the show comes from Public. Public is an investing platform that offers access to stocks, options, bonds and crypto. And they've also integrated AI with tools that can assist investors in building customized portfolios. One of these tools is called generated Assets. It allows you to turn your ideas into investable indexes. So let's say you're interested in something specific like biotech companies with high R and D spend, small cap stocks with improving operating margins, or the S&P 500 minus high debt companies. Chances are there isn't an ETF that fits your exact criteria. But on public, you just type in a prompt and their AI screens thousands of stocks and builds a one of a kind index. You can even backtest it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks, go to public.com market and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com market ad paid for by Public Holdings Brokerage Services by public investing member FINRA, SIPC advisory services by public advisors SEC registered advisor crypto services by 0hash. Sample prompts are for illustrative purposes only, not investment advice. All investing involves risk of loss. See complete [e-mail] disclosures.

[Podcast Announcer]

You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg business. Also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station. Just say Alexa play Bloomberg 11:30.

[Joe Mattey]

I want to jump in right to our next two guests because they just are at a panel. The Legacy Play how global sport shapes Cities, Economies and Culture. And we think about so many things that bring communities together. And sports is certainly one so delighted to have.

[Carol Massar]

We got a star here.

[Dr. Mehmet Oz]

About to be two stars.

[Joe Mattey]

Two stars. Breezy Johnson, US Olympic gold medicine world champion, of course, skiing. We all know who she is.

[Carol Massar]

She's here. So you're here.

[Joe Mattey]

Yeah. Just got in here, right?

[Breezy Johnson]

Yeah, just last night.

[Joe Mattey]

Just last night. Okay. And she's your way. We're not. I don't know about us. Trisha Worthington is with us, Chief Revenue and Philanthropy Officer at U.S. ski and Snowboard. Thank you guys for being with us. Where to begin? You come to Milken. Joe and I keep talking about sports. There's a ton of money in sports. A lot of pressure, though, in every sport to make sure that they are generating revenue. Trisha, let me start with you. Tell us what you guys are doing, how easy it is, how hard you're all competing with. Dollar for dollars, I should say.

[Trisha Worthington]

Absolutely, yeah. We have two main revenue avenues of revenue at US Ski and Snowboard, and that is primarily private giving as well as corporate partnership. And both are really equally supporting these athletes. Everything we raise through those two avenues support their training, their travel, coaching, everything they need to get to the level that that Breezy did in Italy.

[Carol Massar]

Well, it's incredible to have you here and wonderful to meet you. You're a hero for a lot of folks who watched you in action. And I'm wondering what kind of a reception you're getting here today because you're a draw and you help. You're an ambassador for this message, right? What kind of reaction are you hearing from those who are holding the dollars at Milken?

[Breezy Johnson]

Yeah, I mean, it's really such an honor to be here, I think. You know, I would say I'm not one of the most well known ATH right now, but, you know, once the gold starts shining around, then people.

[Carol Massar]

That starts the conversation in itself, doesn't it?

[Joe Mattey]

Exactly.

[Breezy Johnson]

Exactly. Yeah. I think, you know, winning an Olympic Gold medal. I don't think I really even could comprehend the value of it to the American public. I think we as athletes, we work our whole lives for it, but I think, you know, there's a lot of pieces that need to come together. Ski racing in particular, is very much, you know, it's, I think, more similar to a Formula one operation than, like, what most people would expect from an Olympic operation. And we're trying to do that on a very small budget. So, you know, for everything to come together at the right time, once every four years is definitely a challenge.

[Joe Mattey]

Mean and mean can make you extreme. Like, I totally see it play out. Breezy. Talk to us about after winning the medal, like, what does that mean in terms of sponsorships? Do all of a sudden, is the phone ringing like crazy? Give us an idea of how that changes things?

[Breezy Johnson]

Yeah, it definitely changes things, although it's slow. Right. So as athletes, I would say most of our income comes from four main revenue sources for Alpine athletes. You have your helmet sponsor, your kind of title sponsor. We're lucky enough to work with Stifel on the US Ski Team, and they work with me personally, they're a great. Or they're a great company, and they work. They're super invested in skiing and also expanding our appearance globally, which is super important for sponsorships. Then you have your sort of nil deals, your Instagram deals, things like that. That's. It's a small piece of the pie, and I feel like it's somewhat getting smaller as the market gets larger with NCAA athletes, etc. Then you have your endemic sponsors, your equipment sponsors, things like that. That's sort of holding pretty steady, I would say, but with inflation, I would say somewhat decreasing. And then you have your appearance fees, your, you know, conferences that you speak at, your, you know, keynote speeches that you do. So that obviously has grown a lot. Some of the deals, you know, that I've had are definitely growing. And then obviously you make more from your endemic sponsors through, you know, bonuses and things like that around the Olympics. But I would say, yeah, it's an ever changing landscape, for sure. And especially with, you know, NCAA and those pieces, it's definitely evolving.

[Carol Massar]

So, Tricia, how do you grow a sport that for many people is not accessible and is known at least for having a high barrier of entry? How do you make this accessible to more Americans?

[Trisha Worthington]

Yeah, I think doing a good job on the corporate sponsorship side and having those corporate partners help us raise awareness for. For the athletes, because we are such a small sport. So we work with big brands like. Like Stifel that Breezy mentioned, but also Visa, Toyota, J. Crew, all exposing us to audiences that aren't endemic necessarily to the sport.

[Joe Mattey]

So that.

[Breezy Johnson]

That.

[Trisha Worthington]

That would be a key part of that.

[Joe Mattey]

I feel like the last couple of years, you know, hallelujah. You know, women and sports are getting some recognition. They're getting the broadcast audience. I do feel like there is a shift going on in a big way. Investors want to invest not just in men's teams, they want to invest in women's teams. Tell me about. Let me start with you. You know, what you are seeing specifically.

[Trisha Worthington]

Yeah, I mean, our women are killing it right now. You know, Breezy, Lindsey, in case anybody

[Joe Mattey]

forgot, women are men,

[Trisha Worthington]

the strongest women's moguls team in the world. And so because there's so much hype around women's sports, it is attracting corporate partners to the team. And so, you know, it's definitely helping us grow that area of our support to a much bigger, you know, size than it has been traditionally.

[Joe Mattey]

I want to ask you. I just want to ask Breezy the same question, like how. Because you started doing this when you were how old and what you've seen, your trajectory of how kind of the acceptance of women in sports, the success of women in sports.

[Breezy Johnson]

Yeah, I mean, I would say that in many ways, I think social media has changed the landscape because in the ability for everybody to tell their story, I think people have realized that women have just as compelling of stories as men do. And I think that has, you know, exploded online. The ability for women to market themselves. I mean, you know, I think in terms of marketing, you often are talking about a form of investment. Right. And I think people are now seeing that investing in women's sports through marketing is, you know, that is an undervalued asset right now. And so to invest in it is, you know, a much better return. Whereas I think with men's sports, yes, there's great return on it, but also, you know, people already have. It's not undervalued in the same way that women's sports is.

[Carol Massar]

Really interesting. Just lastly, then, what would be your advice to a young person living in the middle of the country without a lot of disposable income, who wants to do what you did?

[Breezy Johnson]

I mean, I think to me, sports, you know, is such a broad category. And I personally, like. I love skiing, and I think that they're. For one, you see stories of skiers from places like Buck Hills, small ski hills, and I think we're working through organizations like Sharewinter and things like that to try to expand the sport to a broader socioeconomic background. And then as far as like sports in general, I do think that there is a sport for everyone. I think that yes, there are different kind of genetic advantages to different sports, but I think that everybody sort of has something for one of them, whether it's, you know, the eyesight you need for skiing or the fast switch muscles for sprinting. And so I think just trying a lot of different sports is what I would recommend to a lot of people.

[Carol Massar]

Fascinating. Well, you've inspired so many Americans. We thank you for being here. It's wonderful to meet you in person and thanks for doing everything that you're doing.

[Breezy Johnson]

Thank you.

[Carol Massar]

Absolutely.

[Joe Mattey]

Both of you. Yeah, really wonderful stuff. I'm so appreciate it.

[Carol Massar]

Lizzie Johnson and Trisha Worthington with us here.

[Podcast Announcer]

You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg business app Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTube.

[Carol Massar]

You never know who you're going to meet at Milken is the moral of the story here. And that's why it been playing itself out in a lot of different ways, including right now. Dr. Mehmet Oz just walked in the room. We waved and he came to sit down with us here, not wave.

[Dr. Mehmet Oz]

I got dragged with a hook.

[Carol Massar]

See how I tried to make that. He had no idea that we were going to do.

[Dr. Mehmet Oz]

Innocent as you think.

[Carol Massar]

Well, you know, we could just, we saw each other, ran at each other and embraced. It's great to see you in Los Angeles. You're, of course, very, very much at home here. And I know that you're here, as you mentioned, to see your daughter on a panel. But there's a conversation at Milken that is right down the middle for you and that's affordability in health care. It's something that we've heard a lot of executives talk about as they try to get their arms around this. And it's a solution that a lot of folks are waiting for. I know it's something that you're talking about right now at the White House. It's this K shaped economy that we're in. This is one of the first areas where you can make a difference and

[Ted Deutsch]

we are doing a difference.

[Dr. Mehmet Oz]

The reality of health care affordability is unlike other problems, like you can't afford the eggs, you get upset, you know the car costs more than you want, you get mad at the dealer Usually. But when you can't afford health care. Yeah, that destroys the basic covenant you have with America. You want a piece of the rock. That means you get to be on the playing field. If you're not healthy, well, that's not happening. And especially if your family is compromised. So I'll give you a couple stats just to blow your mind. For folks who may not realize how difficult is for a lot of Americans. One in three Americans, after they see their doctor, get a prescription, go to the pharmacy, cannot fill it. One in three. And part of the reason for that is we pay three times more. We least we were three times more for drugs made even in this country bottled here than Europeans are paying for those exact same products. So some of the most common drugs we're using in America, like the weight loss drugs, the fertility drugs, you know, basic drugs we use for fundamental recovery of health unaffordable to many Americans.

[Carol Massar]

So this is why Trump rx, right,

[Dr. Mehmet Oz]

Trump rx.gov which, by the way, if you haven't heard of it, please, Trump rx.gov before you buy a medication, at least check the price that's on Trump rx.gov don't think of it like a discount site, although the prices are dramatically lower because they've been negotiated to be most favored nation pricing. But make sure that it's a transparency site for you at least. We demystify what drugs should cost you. And we are continuing to add drugs. We had an Oval Office event last week adding the 17th of the 17 drugs of the biggest companies. Of the 17 companies that the president wanted us to add, these are all the largest companies in the world. And so we're making huge progress there. The affordability issues also, however, touch on fraud. And part of the reason I'll be spending some time in Los Angeles of late is that one in three hospices in the entire country. Remember, hospice is where you go to die.

[Carol Massar]

Yes.

[Dr. Mehmet Oz]

With dignity. One in three in the entire country are here in Los Angeles, not California.

[Carol Massar]

Wow.

[Dr. Mehmet Oz]

Los Angeles. Look around. People aren't that sick. They're not all dying. When you see those kinds of variances in utilization, you start to suspect fraud. And in fact, that's exactly what's happening. We've shut down over 400 of these hospices in this country. Once they shut down, we suspended payments. We're not giving them anything. And so far from the first batch, people aren't complaining.

[Carol Massar]

Yeah.

[Dr. Mehmet Oz]

Which means they sort of know they were getting caught. And when you see this process existing with that, some type of enforcement or integrity of the system, reinforcing the need to be able to run it correctly. It encourages corruption. And so you see more and more doctors selling their souls, literally their licenses to be able to falsely claim people are about to die. You see business folk, that quick story guy made a fortune again using this, this hospice loophole in California. And he was building a massive house with all his money. And the guy who was the carpenter remarked that he was in the hospice business. And the plumber overheard the conversation, said, hey, me too. So literally the contractors and the person buying and building the house, everyone's in the business because it's become so easy to defraud the government. We're stopping that.

[Joe Mattey]

Dr. Osborne, there's fraud and then there's a lot of great doctors out there and a lot of great care healthcare providers. And I gotta say, I talk with real Americans every day who are saying that the rollback in Obamacare, I mean, their health care costs are going up exponentially. I mean, that is problematic. I thought the whole goal was to reduce the cost of health care.

[Dr. Mehmet Oz]

Well, I'm going to push back for a second. So we had 23 million people on Obamacare last year. Historically it was about 12 million people. So it's almost doubled. But most of the people that were asking about these issues aren't quite as upset as you claim because the average person went from being 82% subsidized. Right. That's what they are now. And how much did they lose? They used to be 87% subsidized. So what happened in Obamacare is a massive push to enroll people. But if you don't ask people to even put $1 up for Obamacare, you end up with a lot of fraudulent enrolled people. So I'll give you some numbers. Of the 23 million people, almost half never filed a claim. So let me ask you, if you have health insurance, you once in a while use it. If you never file a claim, you should be asking yourself, well, what happened? Why do I even have this insurance? And it turns out many people didn't even know they had coverage. Look at what they the numbers right now. We went from 23 million to 22 million.

[Joe Mattey]

Again, yeah, we didn't lose a lot of people. I would beg to differ. And I would also say I'm a little concerned about administration policies and how we're going to retire in America in terms of, you know, Medicare and so on and so forth. Like, I do worry about that there's

[Dr. Mehmet Oz]

going to be healthier than it's ever been. Because of program integrity. If you shut hospice down so they don't defraud billions of dollars out of the system, I'll give you a number that's going to make this make us very clear. It doubles the life expectancy of the Medicare trust fund. Doubles it. So anyone out there working their tail off who thinks Medicare is going to be there for me when I retire, if you know it's going to last twice as long, you feel good about it. And we're not doing anything without touching Medicare in any way. The president has been very clear. He loves and shares Medicare. It will remain exactly as you know it. But it's going to last longer because taking the fraud out and I think I'm going to shock you with this. The president saved Medicaid with some of these actions because we were looking at 5.4 trillion more dollars to be poured into to basically legalize money laundering that would have bankrupted the system. So what we have done is put these programs on firm footing that they will continue to survive for the rest of our lifetimes.

[Joe Mattey]

I hope. I hope so.

[Carol Massar]

Would you come talk to us in Washington when we're back in town? I want to keep this going.

[Dr. Mehmet Oz]

Of course.

[Carol Massar]

It's a real pleasure. I hope the panel goes well with your daughter and thank you for stopping by. Don't be late.

[Joe Mattey]

Thanks for coming in on our hook.

[Carol Massar]

We hooked them again. Stay with us on Balance of Power. We'll have much more coming up after this.

[Public.com Advertiser]

Support for the show comes from Public. Public is an investing platform that offers access to stocks, options, bonds and crypto. And they've also integrated AI with tools that can assist investors in building customized portfolios. One of these tools is called generated assets. It allows you to turn your ideas into investable indexes. So let's say you're interested in something specific like biotech companies with high R and D spend, small cap stocks with improving operating margins or the S&P 500 minus high debt companies. Chances are there isn't an ETF that fits your exact criteria. But on public you just type in a prompt and their AI screens thousands of stocks and builds a one of a kind index. You can even backtest it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks, go to public.com market and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com market and paid for by Public Holdings Brokerage Services by public investing member FINRA, SIPC advisory services by public advisors, SEC registered advisor crypto services by ZeroHash. Sample prompts are for illustrative purposes only, not investment advice. All investing involves risk of loss. See complete [e-mail] disclosures.

[Podcast Announcer]

You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station. Just say Alexa. Play Bloomberg 11:30.

[Joe Mattey]

Carol Massar, Joe Matthew live here at Milken. And it is a race to the finish. Oh, don't tell anybody.

[Carol Massar]

That was really good.

[Joe Mattey]

We might have saved the best for last.

[Carol Massar]

We worked that out. Let's see, we saved the stars for the Breezy Johnson.

[Joe Mattey]

And I know, I know Ben Kennedy is with us. He's executive vice president, chief venue and Racing Innovation officer over at nascar. Jeff Gordon, you know who he is. No introduction, no needs, no introduction. Vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports hall of Famer. Oh my gosh. Oh my God.

[Carol Massar]

Thanks for joining.

[Jeff Gordon]

Thanks, Serena.

[Joe Mattey]

Good to have you here. I'm not sure where to start. First of all, when you guys come to Milken, what is it that you want to, what do you want to talk to? What do you want to do here? You know?

[Ben Kennedy]

Well, we're excited. It's our first time.

[Joe Mattey]

We've never been there before timers this year. So. So how are you?

[Ben Kennedy]

Like, so far it's, I mean, it's blown our minds. You know, it's just the who's who of everybody and, you know, business and business leaders. So yeah, it's great to be here and be on a panel.

[Joe Mattey]

Well, speaking of business, NASCAR is a huge business. Tell us about how things are going and I'm just curious about how you think about the next phase of revenue growth for it.

[Jeff Gordon]

Yeah, it's great. We're, you know, in our seasons, so we're 78 years old this year. Blew out our candles on that a few months ago. Eleven races into the season, eleven races into the season, six different winners. Jeff was in victory lane this past weekend with Chase Elliott. So we have a good start to the season and you know, it's been a fun four or five years for us really. Ever since COVID we had a bit of a paradigm change, you know, as far as leadership goes. A lot of the initiatives that we've been pushing, whether it's the next gen car, a lot of schedule innovations. And then we had our new meteorites agreement that kicked off last year. So brought in new partners like TNT with Warner Brothers Discovery. Amazon prime is covering Five races during the summer. And it's been great from a distribution perspective and giving us an opportunity to get to some of those younger audience.

[Carol Massar]

As one of the greatest drivers of all time, you helped to mainstream NASCAR. You made NASCAR a house hold events. We're seeing F1 experience a moment now, and I'm wondering if you see that as competition or if this is the rising tide that lifts all boats.

[Ben Kennedy]

I mean, obviously their presence in the US has grown, so I've always looked at them as totally different.

[Carol Massar]

It is totally different. But does it actually help you to just have more race bands in this country?

[Ben Kennedy]

I think if motorsports is growing, I think everybody's growing along with it. So, yeah, absolutely. And, you know, I think that's what we're focused on, right, is we've got some great characters and storytelling and rivalries. Chase Elliott, one of the most popular, winning this past weekend. A new star in Carson Hochst. So we understand that we're always trying to link our TV partners to our fans as well as our partners within the business on our race teams, to our drivers and to the storytelling. And I think we've got some great momentum right now, especially collaborating with nascar, what they're doing.

[Carol Massar]

Yes.

[Joe Mattey]

Well, I want to ask you guys both, how do you expand the global footprint? Jeff, let me kick it off with you. In terms of nascar, how do you see how you go about it?

[Ben Kennedy]

Yeah, I think a lot of it has to do with OEMs. Right. Right now or Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota. You know, Dodge has recently come into the truck series and could expand there. But I think it kind of starts with where are the OEMs and their footprint? And it's always been North America for us, and that's been their focus. But as if we can bring in some OEMs that look at it outside of just North America, I think that could be a great start.

[Joe Mattey]

Well, are those talks going on at this point?

[Jeff Gordon]

Yes.

[Ben Kennedy]

I told him I was going to

[Joe Mattey]

give all the tough places we like headlines.

[Carol Massar]

Let's make some noise.

[Jeff Gordon]

No, we're excited about it. And to Jeff's point, we have, you know, always focused on new oem. So RAM came into their sport this year with the truck series, which has been great. And then Jeff and I have been talking about what. What does the future of NASCAR look like? So, primarily a domestic sport. All of our races this year in the United States. We had a race in Mexico City for the first time in our sports history last year, which was great on so many different levels. Have a lot of Interest north of the border. And then we have interest abroad as well. We worked with Jeff and Hendrick team on garage 56 car. So a car that went over to Le Mans a couple of years ago, and I can tell you the fans there went nuts over it.

[Joe Mattey]

So OEMs in Europe or anybody in Asia, like, are you talking to.

[Jeff Gordon]

Yeah, there's, there's a handful.

[Ted Deutsch]

He's eager to hear.

[Jeff Gordon]

Yeah, there's a, there's a ton that we're talking to. So domestic and then international as well. And I think a lot of these, these different OEM brands, a lot of them are consolidating. A lot of them are working together now. So whether it is their flagship brand or one of the brands that live within their ecosystem, always having conversations.

[Ben Kennedy]

I just want to add to that, you know, something NASCAR has done. And we have a next gen or Gen 7 car right now. We're able to go to stadiums. We were here at the Coliseum and in Los Angeles competing. We're going to San Diego to a naval base. So now we're able to go to places even outside of the US and put on a great event, either a street course, a stadium course. And I think that really opens up the door for more global.

[Carol Massar]

You mentioned Prime. Is that your exclusive streamer? Obviously, when you start looking to the future, the TNT deal is a big one, of course, but you need to have digital rights at some point. People need to find you in different places. Where are you looking for streaming and how big can that be for nascar?

[Jeff Gordon]

Yeah, so we created the Amazon prime deal and our new Meteorites package which takes us through 2031. So they have five races in the summer. They're actually going to kick off on Memorial Day weekend for the Coke 600. And it's been great for us so far. What I didn't actually realize about it is you're not beholden to any broadcast windows or TV windows. So they can come on whenever they want and they'll leave whenever they want. So they've been really intentional about creating pre race shows, post ratios.

[Carol Massar]

Is that an exclusive arrangement?

[Jeff Gordon]

Putting a lot of data into it for the Cup Series? Yeah.

[Ben Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Jeff Gordon]

So they, they cover those five races and then the promotion that they're able to bring as well. If you go to the Amazon app or Amazon.com on race day, you're literally one click away from watching Cup Series race. That's great.

[Joe Mattey]

Got to ask you about Jeff. Michael Jordan. Yeah, Michael in this quarter competing against

[Ben Kennedy]

Michael Jordan, except for he's winning too much in Typical Michael fashion.

[Joe Mattey]

So what was, you know, what is it like having him? He's massive of celebrity. I don't even need to say that, you know, presence, you know, his presence at the ownership level for NASCAR just got about 30 seconds motorsports.

[Ben Kennedy]

We've seen him in motorcycles, we've seen him around NASCAR races even before he became an owner. But I've never seen him as engaged as he is right now. Of course they're having a lot of success. Daytona 500 win. But as an owner, it's great to have Michael so engaged from an ownership. And I think it's only going to help the whole sport. Girl.

[Ted Deutsch]

Fantastic.

[Carol Massar]

Ben Kennedy Jeff no, I was just

[Jeff Gordon]

gonna say what I love to see about it is and Jeff touched on this is he he is truly passionate about the sport. He is a fan.

[Ted Deutsch]

That's great.

[Jeff Gordon]

Comes to a lot of races. He grew up going to a lot of NASCAR events, so it's neat to see that come out of him.

[Carol Massar]

Thank you for helping us animate some of the great stories that are coming out of Milken here. This was fantastic.

[Joe Mattey]

It was a race to the finish.

[Carol Massar]

Yeah, I think you guys won actually. Jeff Gordon, Ben Kennedy, great to meet you both and thank you for sharing your insights with us here on Bloomberg. Thanks for listening to the Balance of Power podcast. Make sure to subscribe if you haven't already at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And you can find us live every weekday from Washington D.C. at Noontime [e-mail]

[Adobe Advertiser]

if you follow markets, you know the value of long term thinking. You plan, you diversify, you prepare for volatility. But even the best strategies can't prevent every bad day. For more than 75 years, Cincinnati Insurance has helped individuals and businesses navigate tough moments. With expertise, personal attention and independent agents who focus on relationships, not transactions, the Cincinnati insurance companies let them make your bad day better. Find an agent@cin fin.com A business gift

[Carol Massar]

should do more than check a box. It should reflect your brand and show someone they're appreciated, recognized and truly seen. 4imprint offers thousands of high quality customizable products like premium apparel, drinkware, tech and more, making it easy to create a gift that feels meaningful and on brand. And with 4imprint's expert support and their 360 degree guarantee, you can be 4imprint certain your order will arrive exactly as intended. Explore gifting with [e-mail] for Imprint for certain.