Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend: May 8th, 2026

Summary

Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend: May 8th, 2026 – Milken Institute Global Conference Highlights

Episode Date: May 9, 2026
Hosts: Carol Massar & Joe Matthew (filling in for Tim Stenovec)
Theme: Special coverage and interviews from the 29th Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, focusing on major trends in money, power, and technology, featuring top voices in business, finance, and society.

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Overview

This milestone episode spotlights influential conversations from the Milken Institute Global Conference, one of the world’s preeminent gatherings for leaders in finance, business, policy, sports, and academia. Carol Massar and Joe Matthew present key interviews that explore converging technologies, the future of American capitalism, business challenges, the sports industry’s evolving landscape, and the state of higher education.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Disruption, Convergence, and the Future of Technology with Cathie Wood (ARK Invest)

[02:41–14:06]

• Tech Convergence & Elon Musk's Vision

  • Cathie Wood emphasized the era of “technology convergence,” where multiple sectors (AI, space, robotics, data) combine to create new business models.
  • Citing Elon Musk: “I think my companies are converging more than even I understood... a company has to be vertically integrated.” [02:51]

• Vertical Integration & Autonomous Vehicles

  • Wood notes Tesla’s robotaxi ambitions will radically cut transportation costs, estimating per-mile cost could drop from $3+ (Uber) to $0.25 (Tesla). [05:21]
  • "Waymo’s cost structure according to our estimates in 2030 will be 50% higher than Tesla’s..." [06:26]

• SpaceX’s Anticipated IPO

  • Immense investor demand for SpaceX; ARK’s funds have benefited from this.
  • On the potential for volatility: “I think there’ll be supply-demand imbalance in the beginning... but orbital data centers could take Tesla’s revenue generation orders of magnitude higher, 10, 20 times higher.” [07:55]

• Data Centers: Earth vs. Orbit

  • Orbital data centers represent a genuine technological revolution, not just hype: “...this technology revolution is going to dwarf the industrial revolution by far.” [09:00]

• AI Chips: GPUs, CPUs, and Data Storage

  • Both GPUs and CPUs are necessary for future AI growth; their ratio may move toward parity.
  • “All hands on deck.” [11:43]

• AI Regulation and Security

  • Dialogue about the White House vetting AI models is less about heavy-handed regulation and more about national security. [11:55]
  • “They’re probably trying to tighten up a lot of what we do and make sure our industries are safe.” [12:02]

• Crypto and Stablecoins

  • Deregulation and a business-friendly administration in the US is fostering crypto innovation.
  • “We do think USAT has a shot.” [14:05]

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2. Inclusive Capitalism & Untapped Potential with John Hope Bryant (Operation Hope)

[17:44–24:23]

• A “Business Plan for Hope”

  • Bryant discusses leveraging both for-profit and philanthropic strategies to “unleash untapped human potential at scale.” [17:54]
  • Key insight: Women now comprise a third of the US economy, and significant wealth transfer to women is imminent.

• Demographic Shifts & Market Opportunity

  • “Without women getting that necessary step into the economy, we’d be a second-tier nation today.” [18:57]
  • Black and Latino Americans: 40% of GDP; immigrants nearly 20%.

• Why Capital Isn’t Flowing Where Opportunity Is

  • Obstacles: short-term mindsets, transactional environments, aversion to risk/change.
  • Notable quote: “It’s hard to get somebody to agree to the truth when a lie’s paying their paycheck.” (quoting Bill Clinton, [20:17])

• Inclusivity as Smart Business

  • C-suite change is slow; private support for inclusive economics is growing.
  • “Inclusive economics... the color is green, not black or white or red or blue.” [22:41]
  • Bryant’s book advocates focusing on economics not partisanship: “Angry is not a strategy.” [23:12]

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3. Chamber of Commerce Perspective with Suzanne Clark (US Chamber of Commerce)

[24:36–29:41]

• American Businesses’ Top Concerns

  • Uncertainty dominates: labor shortages, supply chain, inflation, economic shifts, the impact of AI.

• Affordability & Structural Barriers

  • Root causes: supply constraints in housing, health care, workforce, and supply chain resilience.
  • Permitting reform highlighted as the biggest potential “game changer.” [26:29]
  • “It takes five to seven years to get a permit... if we want long-term economic growth... we have to take these issues seriously.” [26:30]

• Policy & Planning

  • Call for a longer perspective (beyond political cycles) and stronger community engagement in policy.

• Crypto Policies and Institutional Caution

  • Chamber is supportive of innovation but cautious; recognizes mainstreaming of crypto requires careful regulation (“At what point is innovation good, and at what point is disruption dangerous?” [29:24]).

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4. The Changing Business of Sports

a. US Ski & Snowboard: Making Olympic Success Work

Guests: Breezy Johnson (Olympic Gold Medalist), Tricia Worthington (US Ski & Snowboard) [32:56–38:05]

• Funding mix: private giving and corporate partnerships.
• Sponsorship market evolution: winning gold opens opportunities, but revenue growth is slow and split across many sources (main sponsors, NIL/Instagram, equipment, appearance fees).
• Barriers to skiing: high cost, lack of access; addressed via broad corporate partnerships (Visa, Toyota, J.Crew).
• Women’s sports gaining ground: “Our women are killing it right now... There’s so much hype around women’s sports, it is attracting corporate partners...” [37:34]

b. NASCAR: Next Generation and Global Growth

Guests: Ben Kennedy (NASCAR EVP), Jeff Gordon (Hall of Famer) [38:18–41:57]

• NASCAR’s age, history, and growth; impact of new media deals with TNT and Amazon Prime for younger viewers.
• On racing landscape: “If motorsports is growing, everyone’s growing along with it.” [40:00]
• Future expansion: OEM footprints dictate growth abroad. NASCAR’s entry into Mexico and global events.
• Collaboration, storytelling, and star drivers are central to attracting new fans.

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5. Higher Education, Free Speech, and Political Pressures

Guest: Sian Bilock (President, Dartmouth University) [42:14–44:29]

• Academia under a political spotlight; Bilock’s guiding principle: “We’re an educational institution… we’re teaching students how to think, not what to think...” [42:34]
• Free expression with clear boundaries: “You can protest outside my office, but you cannot disrupt others... you can protest a speaker, but you can’t set up an encampment.” [43:40]
• Dartmouth’s proactive engagement—modeling civil dialogue post-October 7th, fostering respect and openness on campus.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Cathie Wood on Tech Convergence:
  “What we’re seeing is 15 different technologies evolving and they’re all converging.” [02:51]

• Cathie Wood on Autonomous Vehicles:
  “If our analysis is correct those costs as robotaxis scale are going to drop to 25 cents per mile. Think about it. The cost of transportation is going to collapse...” [05:21]

• Cathie Wood on SpaceX’s Impact:
  “Just think about how SpaceX has reawakened the dream of space exploration. This has captured the imagination not just of investors, but really everyone.” [06:58]

• Cathie Wood on Industrial Change:
  “This technology revolution is going to dwarf the industrial revolution by far.” [09:00]

• John Hope Bryant quoting Bill Clinton:
  “It’s hard to get somebody to agree to the truth when a lie’s paying their paycheck.” [20:17]

• John Hope Bryant on Inclusive Capitalism:
  “The color is green, not black or white or red or blue.” [22:41]

• Suzanne Clark on Permitting Reform:
  “It takes five to seven years to get a permit… If we want long-term economic growth… we have to take these issues seriously.” [26:30]

• Breezy Johnson on Winning Gold:
  “Winning an Olympic gold medal... I don't think I really even could comprehend the value of it to the American public." [34:32]

• Tricia Worthington on Women’s Sports:
  “Our women are killing it right now... there's so much hype around women's sports, it is attracting corporate partners to the team.” [37:34]

• Ben Kennedy on Motorsport Growth:
  “If motorsports is growing, I think everybody’s growing along with it.” [40:00]

• Sian Bilock on Free Expression:
  "We're an educational institution... we're teaching students how to think, not what to think, and that free expression is very important, but there are boundary conditions." [42:34]

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Segment Timestamps Breakdown

• Intro & Cathie Wood (ARK Invest, SpaceX, AI): [02:00–14:06]
• John Hope Bryant (Operation Hope, Capitalism for All): [17:44–24:23]
• Suzanne Clark (US Chamber of Commerce): [24:36–29:41]
• US Ski & Snowboard (Breezy Johnson, Tricia Worthington): [32:56–38:05]
• NASCAR (Ben Kennedy, Jeff Gordon): [38:18–41:57]
• Sian Bilock (Dartmouth University): [42:14–44:29]

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Conclusion

This special edition from the Milken Institute Global Conference captures the urgency and opportunity of transformational change across technology, business, society, and sports. Leading voices discussed the convergence of technologies, the expansion of inclusivity in capitalism, urgent business and policy challenges, innovative models in sports, and a renewed focus on values and free speech in academia.

The common thread: shaping the future requires both vision and execution—breaking down silos, embracing long-term thinking, and ensuring the benefits of growth and innovation are accessible for all.

Transcript

[Carol Massar]

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[Carol Massar]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News this

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is Bloomberg Business Week Daily, reporting from the magazine that helps global leaders stay ahead with insight on the people, companies and trends shaping today's complex economy. Plus global business, finance and tech news as it happens. Bloomberg Business Week Daily with Carol Massar and Tim Stanweck on Bloomberg Radio.

[Joe Matthew]

Hi everyone.

[Carol Massar]

Welcome to a special edition of Bloomberg Business Week. This hour, we're bringing you highlights from our coverage of the annual Milken Institute Global Conference held in Beverly Hills, California. The conference, now in its 29th year, Tim, is out this week, so I was lucky enough to be joined by Bloomberg Balance of Power co host Joe Matthew. Coming up, some of the biggest names in business, finance and politics. Later this hour, our conversation with the U.S. chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne Clark, plus Operation Hope Chairman John Hope Bryant on how inclusive capitalism can restore American greatness. First up, though, we begin with our conversation with the founder of Ark Invest. She is also CEO and cio.

[Joe Matthew]

We are, of course talking about Cathie Wood.

[Carol Massar]

We chatted about artificial intelligence and orbital data centers, as well as got her outlook for SpaceX's IPO.

[Cathie Wood]

So this is why I founded Ark Invest. We knew that the seeds that were planted in the 20 years that ended in the bubble. They've been germinating for 20, 25 years, and now they're flourishing. And what we're seeing is 15 different technologies evolving and they're all converging. And Elon, about six months ago, and we've been using the word convergence for a long time, he said, you know what? I think my companies are converging more than even I understood. And so we're seeing, of course, Space XI rumors about Tesla. And really he believes that in the new world, or to create the new world, a company has to be vertically integrated. And so that's what's happening here. He is moving into incredible vertical integration as he, as he moves data centers into space.

[Joe Matthew]

Is it all about our Bloomberg intelligence? George Ferguson covers space, covers defense, but he said it's all about Elon controlling the supply chain. Kathy. But I do feel like globally we're seeing countries, companies really thinking about their supply chain. Is that part of his strategy?

[Cathie Wood]

Absolutely, absolutely. And also when a company is breaking new ground, literally in this case, and really inventing something, the supply chain doesn't exist. Exist very often or not all parts of it exist. And I think also as he's discussing, you know, where he's going and how he's going to do it, he is getting the supply chain ready. You know, he always sets the time frame, you know, much sooner than most people would expect. But it's to get his employees and the supply chain focused because when he moves, he moves fast.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

You've really helped to define people's perception of Elon Musk and the company Tesla, largely as one that is not about making cars, but one that's about autonomy and robotics. When you walk out the Hilton here, different than where I live in Washington, D.C. driverless, Waymos are picking people up and driving away with them all day long. The mainstreaming of autonomous vehicles is just about here. I'd like to know if you see that actually fulfilling itself in the next year and if this is a zero sum game or you're going to have Uber, Waymo, Tesla all involved.

[Cathie Wood]

Okay, this is where vertical integration comes back into the conversation. In the robotaxi world, Tesla's vertically integrated and has created the platform upon which others will build their companies. So I credit our team. So, Tasha Daniel, Bret Winton, we have been focused on this from day one, 2014, when I founded Ark. And yes, slowly, slowly, then all at once. So vertical integration for Tesla means it will have the lowest cost structure by far. Now it's going to use uber's umbrella here, $3 plus per mile. But if our analysis is correct, those costs as robotaxis scale are going to drop to 25 cents per mile. Think about it. The cost of transportation is going to collapse here and no one Waymo's cost structure according to our estimates in 2030 will be 50% higher than Tesla's because they're dependent on other auto manufacturers and others in the supply chain that Tesla is not.

[Joe Matthew]

How are you thinking about the Space X ipo, Cathie? Do you anticipate there's so much enthusiasm going into it, massive size, massive interest, but do you think there'll be a drop off initially after, you know, once it makes its public debut and then ultimately kind of play out like Tesla did, that eventually it goes up again, like how do you see the trajectory?

[Cathie Wood]

Right. So this is only at least what we know so far. $75 billion. There is so much demand out there. We have in our venture fund. So Ark Vic Space X is the largest position and because we're direct to consumer when it comes to venture, although the fund has scaled north of 850 million, investors had to look for us. And how did they find us? They were looking for Space X. So the demand is voracious out there. Only 75 billion. Yes, it's a big IPO. But just think about how, how Space X has reawakened the dream of space exploration. This has captured the imagination not just of investors, but really everyone.

[Joe Matthew]

So does that mean you don't think it'll, you think the enthusiasm will continue or do you think there will be some settling?

[Cathie Wood]

I think there'll be supply demand imbalance in the beginning. You'll see that POP will be volatile, I would imagine. But we hope to, to serve in terms of providing our research. We've already got a Space X model out there on our site, ark-invest.com we have not added data centers, orbital data centers in. However, our preliminary work suggests that that part of the business could take relative to our existing model, could take Tesla from a revenue generation point of view, orders of magnitude higher, 10, 20 times higher.

[Joe Matthew]

I'm so glad you went there. Data centers in space and I mentioned before we got going, it came up on a real estate panel where so many of the real estate investors, even like related companies have switched their focus to data centers. But we brought up data centers in space. What does that mean though then for all of the data center buildout and money that is happening here on Earth, does that mean a lot of that goes away? There's a little bit of a bubble. Like how do we reconcile that?

[Cathie Wood]

We think, and this is the important judgment call. Is this hype? Is this 1999? I can tell you unequivocally it is not. As I mentioned, the seeds were planted then, now we're ready and we think this technology revolution is going to dwarf the industrial revolution by far. So I think that we'll need the orbital data centers. And of course Elon is informed by his experience in Memphis, Tennessee and now Mississippi. Memphis became not in my backyard. You're increasing my electricity prices and you're ruining our land. So he's basically saying I'm not going to have to worry about not in my backyard.

[Joe Matthew]

I know I'm dominating. I didn't mean you guys should walk

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

away with this about something. You woke up and saw your third largest holding just go through the roof in amd. Another blow the doors off quarter. And it's really creating this question now about whether we should be paying a lot more attention. The market is to CPUs after GPUs went crazy, we're looking at people take money out of Nvidia now and chase stocks like amd. Do we need both or is that where you're looking?

[Cathie Wood]

We think we need both. I do think there is more competition. We want it, we need it. But it was interesting. Sarah Fryer at OpenAI. I'm going to give her a shout out because I heard her speak and she, she was saying, you know, people are chasing GPUs. They're going to be really shocked at how agentic I activate CPUs and inference generally activates CPU'. Yesterday, Lisa Su provided a stat we had never heard before. Right now for every, for every CPU there are four to five GPUs. When it comes to enabling AI, Lisa thinks it's going to go one to one in the future. I think that has been the sleeper and you see intel has taken off. In fact we're seeing a lot of stocks that were, you know, they were very big in the bubble and I just said to our team today, I said what's going on? We're going back to the future. You know intel resurrect, right? Yes. And Flex Tronics is now called Flex Boom. So I think we need it all.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

Not to mention data storage which has been one of the most remarkable examples of of a shortage, creating a monster rally. So you need these old fashioned chips.

[Cathie Wood]

Yes.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

To get to this new fashion.

[Cathie Wood]

All hands on deck.

[Joe Matthew]

We want to ask you about a story that came out Google, Microsoft to give us agency early access to AI models. So basically the White House vetting AI models this good or bad and knowing

[Cathie Wood]

this administration and David Sacks are our eyes are I don't think we're talking about heavy regulation here. We might be talking more about national security. National security. We heard this with Methos. You know, software that, you know has not, has been in place for 60 years and never been penetrated. I can find these vulnerabilities. So they're probably trying to tighten up a lot of what we do out there and make sure that our industries are safe.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

Doesn't that bring a political implication though to what may or may not be available to people if, if the White House is choosing which platform we ought to use now?

[Cathie Wood]

You know, it's interesting and this is taking a leaf from Open Air in its early days. Chatbots are saying we don't think we can release this. This is too powerful. This is great marketing. It's true that it's very powerful, but it's also great marketing.

[Joe Matthew]

I want to ask you about stablecoins tether and their potential. Do you think it has a chance to become big in the US under the genius acting? You've also invested in circle. Are you looking at other stablecoin related players beyond that Crypto bill, tell me there's a lot going on right now.

[Cathie Wood]

Is a lot. Well and you know, in the last election I do think the crypto community was very, was part of the swing factor because they knew deregulation would take place under this administration. That's absolutely true. So yes that we're seeing the deregulation. You know, this is, this is creating a new financial world order. Many people think the dollar should be going down because of our deficit and debt and all of that. And what we're seeing here in the United States is deregulation, tax cuts and a very business friendly, very business friendly administration. We think the return on invested capital is going to go up in the US Generally. And we think that the crypto revolution, we were at risk of losing it. Yeah. And yes, we do think USAT has a shot.

[Joe Matthew]

You do?

[Cathie Wood]

Yes.

[Carol Massar]

That's Ark Invest, Cathie Wood with Joe Matthew and me. Coming up on this special Milken edition of Bloomberg businessweek, Operation Hope CEO John Hope Bryant explains how capitalism for all will impact the future of the United States. I'm Carol Massar with Bloomberg Balance of Power co host Joe Matthew. This is Bloomberg.

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[Carol Massar]

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Business Week Daily with Carol Massar and Tim Stanvak on Bloomberg Radio.

[Carol Massar]

We've got a special edition this week highlighting interviews from this past week's Milken Institute Global conference held as it always is every year for the past 29 years in Beverly Hills, California. Tim is out this week. Bloomberg Balance of Power co host Joe Matthew Nice enough to join me. Next up from the conference, our conversation with John Hope Bryant of Operation Hope and author of Capitalism for All.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

So you've got billionaires bumping into each other here talking about opportunity, investment, the future. Are they talking about hope when they sit down with you?

[John Hope Bryant]

They're talking about hope with a business plan.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

Okay.

[John Hope Bryant]

I mean you mentioned I'm chairman of Operation Hope and thank you. I'm also chairman of Brian Group Ventures. And so it's for profit and a philanthropic vision. I understand balance sheets and income statements and capital stacks and I've raised and deployed $5 billion worth of capital. But it's all about unleashing untapped human potential at scale. I'm a lot of emerging markets.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

Yeah.

[John Hope Bryant]

And so I think we've been looking at this entire conversation in the wrong way. And essentially what my book says is, is what some people see as social, I see as market development. 1972. My book makes this case that the experiment's already been made. Carol's mother, your mother, my mother. 1972, white or black, couldn't get a credit card or a loan unless her husband co signed it. Couldn't get a Bank account. In 1972, blacks in affirmative action teed up what Nixon codified as affirmative action gave it to women and to be blunt, white women, which I'm fine with. White women open the door to all women. Women today are a third of the U.S. economy. Eight to $10 trillion.

[Joe Matthew]

Great transfer of wealth going to women.

[John Hope Bryant]

Also 100% coming. That's 88 to $100 trillion of wealth transfer in the next 10 years. And women are 41% of all businesses in America today. So without women getting that necessary step into the economy, we'd be, we'd be a second tier nation today. GDP. Why is there a third of our GDP? Black and Latinos are 40% about, about 6 to 7 trillion dollars of all GDP. Immigrants are just under 20% of GDP. And you've got 10,000 baby boomers walking out of the economy every day because they're retiring. And by 2034, they'll all be gone. So what I'm talking about in this book is about emerging markets. I'm talking about literally the future of the biggest economy in the world. And my rich friends, my poor Friends do better, if only to stay rich. So when people understand me, they understand that I'm going to bring them customers, I'm going to bring them market share.

[Joe Matthew]

Let's go there, because we've talked with you before. You know, if anything I've learned in doing business news for a long time and even being at Bloomberg, like you and I have been talking, money intersects with everything. Follow the money.

[John Hope Bryant]

That's right.

[Joe Matthew]

And so here you're talking about 40%, you know, black and Latinos, like, money follows market. So why isn't money followed this? We were talking about affordable housing here at Bloomberg. We've talked about that with you. Like, why isn't money going to these areas where there's money to be made?

[John Hope Bryant]

President Bill Clinton once said, it's hard to get somebody to agree to the truth on the lies. Paying their paycheck.

[Commercial Announcer]

Wow.

[Joe Matthew]

What does that mean?

[John Hope Bryant]

That means here in today, people want a sugar high. They live in the moment.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

Yeah.

[John Hope Bryant]

Some people are afraid to open their mouth because they're afraid of being persecuted, prosecutors, or targeted in the moment. So people sort of go along, get along until things change because things are working for them at the moment. So we're in a transactional environment. But people who I talk to offline all know that you got a plan. Not for three months or even three years. You got to plan for, you know, 10 years and 30 years. I just think that moments change at the moment. People are in a survival mindset versus a thriving or winning building mindset, which is really the American ethos. So you need the bottom doesn't have

[Joe Matthew]

seats at the table you and I talk about.

[John Hope Bryant]

That's why I'm here. And the middle class, by the way, this is not even a bottom issue. The middle class have got too much month at the end of their money. You're making $250,000 a year. A third of those are living from paycheck to paycheck, $100,000 a year. Half of those are living from paycheck to paycheck. So this is becoming everybody's issue, but they don't have seats at the table. Thank you, Michael Milken. To make sure that I am here for this as his voice and that

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

thought for a moment, because when you walk around here, we're very impressed by the diversity in ideas here at Milken. Does that need to be matched by diversity in culture?

[Joe Matthew]

We've been at Milken in years past, Joe, and we talked about diversity, inclusion big time. Nobody talks about it anymore in these

[John Hope Bryant]

private rooms that I have been in particularly. Sunday night was big, you know, private dinner. Michael Milken actually brought up. He repeatedly, repeatedly, the power of immigrants, the necessity for it. I'm going to commend him for saying out loud what most people are afraid to say, which is this is a net positive, not a net negative. Mike calls me his little brother because we think in the same way. But Mike can't bend the C suite. He can't put somebody in a CEO position, so he can only invite who's sitting there in leadership. Unfortunately, it's. It looks pretty uniform. I do believe the world's changing. I met with a number of these CEOs, a number of these billionaires. What they say to me privately is very encouraging.

[Joe Matthew]

What are they saying to you privately, John, that gives you hope?

[John Hope Bryant]

We're in. We're in full support of what you're doing. We think that you've made a brilliant business case. Thank you for giving us a new language. Inclusive economics is not fraught with political dynamics in it. The color is green, not black or white or red or blue. Yeah, let's fold in behind that. Let's wait for the moment when, you know, when everybody can come together again, which we believe is sooner rather than later. As you know, markets are dynamic. The current stock market moves a lot on sentiment.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

Yes.

[John Hope Bryant]

And so I think people are riding the wave. And sometimes some things are more comfortable as a conversation. I think things have been in the last couple of years uncomfortable to address difficult issues other than to be angry about it. People are now saying angry is not a strategy. By the way, we've got the extremes in both parties that are driving agendas. Both parties. I hope that the mayor of New York and the White House administration, I hope the mayor, the mayor of LA all read this book and steal ideas from it. I don't want credit for it, but the majority of this country is actually pretty moderate. I mean, 48% of this country are basically independents. And you've got almost half of each party who say, I don't really like the rhetoric in my own party, but they don't have a voice. So I'm trying to talk economically through math, to give reasonable people and reasonable thought a voice.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

All the while, states are redrawing their congressional maps to potentially make things even more partisan in Washington. Red versus blue. If anger is not a strategy, we need a new playbook. How do we get out of this morass?

[John Hope Bryant]

You go far enough to the North Pole, you end up south. This is going to go until it goes.

[Carol Massar]

That's John Hope Bryant of Operation Hope and author of Capitalism for All. Staying with the capitalist theme, we're joined now by Suzanne Clark. She is the president and CEO of the U.S. chamber of Commerce.

[Joe Matthew]

A great voice. When it comes to what's going on in the, in the business community, what is top of mind? Because the laundry list of things that is coming at American businesses right now is a lot.

[Suzanne Clark]

We were just with the LA Chamber yesterday and it's such an opportunity to get out and talk to local businesses, big and small about what's happening in their community. And what we see is businesses really trying to deal with all of this uncertainty. What should they be doing about finding workers? What should they be doing about their supply chains? What will happen with the economy? What does AI mean? So all the things that you've been tackling all morning, business leaders are live trying to figure out themselves.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

What conversations are you having when it comes to affordability? I know you were on a panel today with Neera Tanden. It was on the broadcast a little bit earlier. Both of you, I'm sure, coming from different perspectives, when you're trying to keep American business in mind, knowing price pressures from the gas pump to the grocery store are very real, you reached for the word uncertainty first. How do you speak with your members about this, of the challenges they're facing and about to face?

[Suzanne Clark]

Well, you know, let me say first that Neera and I had violent agreement

[Sian Bilock]

about the need for permitting reform.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

Right.

[Suzanne Clark]

That we really need to build things faster.

[Cathie Wood]

All of it, right?

[Suzanne Clark]

It's housing, its electricity, it's utility, utility costs. It's, you know, so what could we do as a country to build things faster, more efficiently and cheaper? So that comes up with affordability. The U.S. chamber, we really believe a lot of the root of the affordability problem is a supply constraint. Right? We don't have enough housing, we don't have enough access to health care. We have a labor shortages in key sectors. We don't have a resilient supply chain. So the question is, if we want long term economic growth, 3% growth that lifts up families and communities in the country and helps pay off debt, if we want all of that, we have to take some of these structural issues really seriously.

[Joe Matthew]

If we could tackle one right now, in this given moment, what would it be that you think the American businesses could really get behind and say this

[Sian Bilock]

is a game changer?

[Suzanne Clark]

I really think it would be permitting reform. Think about the fact that it takes five to seven years to get a permit. In that time, you'll have A change of administrations, most likely.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

Right.

[Suzanne Clark]

So if you have one administration that prefers one type of energy, and if a different administration prefers a different type of energy. Energy. How do you decide where to invest and what to build? And yet at the same time, as you've reported, we need all of the above.

[Joe Matthew]

Suzanne, how do we get there, though? Because I think about, you know, the American business community, they have a great line often to the White House and to lawmakers. So how do they say, hey folks, it's not just about four years, four years, four years. It's about a 10 year plan. China does it. It's a whole different country. And I know that. But how do we do that so that we really commit longer term?

[Suzanne Clark]

We certainly do not want to a government planned economy. Right.

[Cathie Wood]

None of us are for that.

[Suzanne Clark]

But you're right that we do need government to set the conditions so that we can grow, so business can solve these problems at scale that society really needs answers to. And I think maybe we have to do two things a little differently. One is talk to more people at the local level, local businesses, local chambers, and get them to drive community support for politicians who are willing to do some hard things. And two, so I think businesses are going to have to get more involved earlier in the process, in the primary process, and really thinking about candidates who don't want to just admire the problems and say expedient things, but are willing to do hard work and take hard votes.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

This Trump administration has embraced crypto in a way that we have not seen in a White House before. And of course, the timing has a lot to do with this, with this suddenly kind of going mainstream. And there's a clarity act that Republicans and some Democrats are, are hoping to see past this, this year. In fact, it could be sooner than later. Are we managing the rules of the road when it comes to crypto in a way that the Chamber can support?

[Suzanne Clark]

We just had 114th birthday.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

I know.

[Suzanne Clark]

I don't look at day over 112. Thank you. I really feel the weight of the fact that, you know, who was the guy in my office in the Depression or in World War II already, you know, and how did they think about emerging technologies, emerging financial instruments? How did they think about the impact on working families and communities and American security and competitiveness and how do we do the long term right things while being empathetic to the real short term pain? We actually do need institutions with historical memory and reach. And I think it's really important.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

Sound like an institutionalist, but the Chamber not taking a position on crypto.

[Suzanne Clark]

Look, I think what we want to do is be supportive of new technologies at the same time that we don't lose sight of what really works in this country in the traditional capital markets and traditional financial services.

[Joe Matthew]

We want to be careful watching this so closely. That's right. And they've gone from pushing back completely not interested to embracing slowly, but I think moving carefully. But there is this concern we talk about disruption, innovation, that how could something like the digital world or crypto currencies replace so much of what the banks do? So is there a lot of pushback that you guys are getting the banks?

[Suzanne Clark]

At what point is that innovation good? And is what point that is that disruption dangerous? Right. And it's what you're always balancing with the new technology. And so I applaud these industries and these companies that are educating Congress and getting to a point where we can do something that makes sense and makes sense for business.

[Joe Matthew]

What a pleasure. Thank you so much.

[Suzanne Clark]

Thanks so much for having me.

[Joe Matthew]

Me, Suzanne Clark, Presidency of the US Chamber of Commerce.

[Carol Massar]

Coming up on this special Milken edition of Bloomberg Businessweek, the business of sports. Always a lot of money there. We always make the connection here at Bloomberg. We hear from a NASCAR hall of Famer and an Olympic gold medalist. This is Bloomberg.

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[Carol Massar]

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 this is Bloomberg

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Business Week Daily with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Radio.

[Carol Massar]

We want to wrap up this special edition of Bloomberg Business Business Week at Milken this past week in Beverly Hills, California with a gold medal guest, literally. We're joined by US Alpine skier Breezy Johnson and Tricia Worthington from the US Ski and Snowboard Team.

[Joe Matthew]

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 on 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.

[Tricia 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, they're traveling, they're coaching, everything they need to get to the level that Breezy did in Italy.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

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 athletes right now, but, you know, once the gold starts shining around, then people heard him

[Joe Matthew]

as, like, you said, Johnson.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

But that starts the conversation in itself, doesn't it?

[Joe Matthew]

Exactly, exactly.

[Breezy Johnson]

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 Matthew]

Mean and mean can make you extreme. Like, I totally see it play out. Breezy talked about 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

[Joe Matthew]

work with me personally.

[Breezy Johnson]

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.

[Suzanne Clark]

That's.

[Breezy Johnson]

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.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

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?

[Tricia Worthington]

Yeah, I think doing a good job on the corporate sponsor, 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. So that.

[Cathie Wood]

That.

[Tricia Worthington]

That would be a key part of that.

[Joe Matthew]

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.

[Tricia Worthington]

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

[Joe Matthew]

forgot, women are better.

[Tricia 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.

[Carol Massar]

That's U.S. alpine skier Breezy Johnson and Tricia Worthington from the U.S. ski and Snowboard team. Now, from the slopes to the racetrack, we caught up with NASCAR EVP Ben Kennedy and hall of Famer Jeff Gordon.

[Joe Matthew]

First of all, when you guys come to Milken, what is it that you want to. Who do you want to talk to? What do you want to do here?

[Ben Kennedy]

Well, we're excited. This is our first time.

[Joe Matthew]

We've never been to it before timers this year. So. So how are you? Like, so far?

[Ben Kennedy]

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 the panel.

[Joe Matthew]

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]

It's great. We're, you know, in our our season, 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. And it's been a fun four or five years for us, really. Ever since COVID we had a bit of a paradigm change 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 media rights 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.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

As one of the greatest drivers of all time, you helped to mainstream NASCAR. You made NASCAR a household event. 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.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

It is totally different. But does it actually help you to just have more race fans 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, is we've got some great characters and storytelling and rivalries. Chase Elliott, you know, one of the most popular winning this past weekend, a new star in Carson Hosavar. So we understand them. You know what, 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.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

Yes.

[Joe Matthew]

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

[Cathie Wood]

Yeah, I think a lot of it

[Ben Kennedy]

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 Matthew]

Well, are those talks going on fan at this point?

[Jeff Gordon]

Yes.

[Ben Kennedy]

I told him I was going to

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

give all the tough questions.

[Joe Matthew]

We like headlines.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

Let's make some noise.

[Jeff Gordon]

No, we're excited about it. And to Jeff's point, we have 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 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 the Hendrick team on a Garage 56 car. So a car that went over to Le Mans a couple years ago, and I can tell you the fans there went nuts over it.

[Carol Massar]

That's NASCAR EVP Ben Kennedy and Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon speaking with Joe, Matthew and me at the Milken Institute Global Conference held this past week in Beverly Hills. Next up from the conference, our discussion on the state of higher education with Dartmouth University President Sian Bilock.

[Joe Matthew]

I want to ask you first about the White House turning a big spotlight on academia here in the United States. How are you thinking about that? Because my feeling for colleges and universities, it's a place for kids to say stupid things and make mistakes and learn, and I feel like we can't do that anymore. But tell me, you've had to deal with it firsthand.

[Sian Bilock]

Yeah. I mean, first, I live by my values and the values of the institution, regardless of who is in office. And we've been very clear at Dartmouth about what we are. We're an educational institution. We're not a political institution, and we're not an advocacy organization. And when you're clear about what you do, that you're teaching students how to think, not what to think, and that free expression is very important, but there are boundary conditions. It makes it easier to do your job. And we have been one of the few Ivy League universities not under federal investigation by either the Biden administration or the Trump administration. And I think it's because we're focused on our mission.

[Interviewer (possibly Bloomberg host)]

Has there been a corrosive effect of the Biden administrators or the Trump administration? Forgive me, focus on academia, not to mention the greater Republican approach to anti Semitism on campus that we saw during the Biden administration. Has there been a chilling effect for students?

[Sian Bilock]

What I am interested in is making sure that people can express their views regardless of their background, but that we're not spewing hate.

[Cathie Wood]

Right?

[Sian Bilock]

I think that's really important. And so we're very clear, you can protest outside my office, but you cannot disrupt others. That's robbing someone else of free expression. You can protest a speaker, but you can't set up an encampment, take over a shared part of space and declare it for one ideology. And so at Dartmouth, we have very expansive free expression policies, but we're willing to call balls and strikes. And what we're seeing on our campus is amazing dialogue. We started after October 7th, something called Dartmouth Dialogues, where our faculty in Jewish Studies and Middle Eastern Studies actually were willing to get together and have open panels and dialogues and they modeled what it was like for students. And I will say now that 85% of our students on campus feel like they can speak their mind in a respectful way. And I'm very proud of that.

[Carol Massar]

That's Dartmouth University President Sian Bilock speaking with Joe Matthew and me at the Milken Institute Global Conference held this past week in Beverly Hills. And that wraps up our special weekend edition of Bloomberg Business Week from the Milken Institute Global Conference that was held this past week. It was the 29th time they've held this conference. Be sure to tune in to Bloomberg Businessweek Daily Monday through Friday starting at 2pm Wall Street Time on Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg TV and on Sirius XM Channel 121. You can also watch our daily broadcast on YouTube. Just search Bloomberg Podcasts. We're simulcast on Bloomberg originals, available on bloomberg.com originals and streaming platforms including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung TV and more. And be sure to catch our Bloomberg Businessweek podcast at bloomberg.com, apple or wherever you get your podcasts, the latest edition of the magazine. It is available on newsstands [e-mail] and always on the Bloomberg Terminal. I'm Carol Massar along with Bloomberg's Joe Matthew. Have a good and safe weekend everyone. Do stay with us. Today's top stories and global business headlines are coming up right now. 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 travel smarter, not

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[Suzanne Clark]

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