The Milken Institute is an independent economic think tank based in Santa Monica, California, with offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Miami,[2] London,[3] Abu Dhabi, and Singapore.

It publishes research and hosts conferences that apply market-based principles and financial innovations to social issues in the US and internationally.

The institute was founded in 1991 by Michael Milken, a former Drexel Burnham Lambert banker who gained notoriety for significant financial success as a pioneer of "junk bonds" as well as his subsequent felony conviction and prison sentence for U.S. securities law violations.

In May 2018, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin instructed his staff to accept a non-low-income tract in Storey County, Nevada as an Opportunity Zone shortly after attending an Institute event in Beverly Hills with Michael Milken.

[6] Treasury later issued a regulatory guidance at the institute's request that allows prior investors to benefit from newly designated opportunity zones.