Milken 2014: Hundreds of execs search for ideas

LOS ANGELES -- Hundreds of executives jammed a glitzy hotel Monday for the annual Milken Institute Global Conference. They came to scout for new ideas and talk about the future of the world.

This year, the event appears to be one of the best attended. Participants jostled into sessions featuring a wide range of thought leaders -- from Disney CEO Robert Iger to Black Eyed Peas co-founder will.i.am.

The conference, hosted by financier-turn-philanthropist Michael Milken, resounded with a sense of opportunity now that the economy has rebounded and the stock market has generally been on increase. Risk taking are the rock stars.

In America, "it is complely acceptable to fail," says Kenneth Griffin, founder of the hedge fund Citadel. "If you never fail, you are...not trying to get ahead."

Some breakthrough ideas involve huge investments.

For instance, Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of investors Blackstone Group, talked about why he's created a $350 million fund for help students, including Americans, attend an elite Chinese university. Basically, it's aimed at creating a program akin to the Rhodes Scholars that points east, instead of west.

He says he created the program as bulwark of understanding agaisnt fears that resentment will be directed as China as its economy strengthens.

"Anger is going to be directed at the winners of the game," he says. By having spent time in China, the scholars will be able to share cross-cultural understanding when they return to their home countries.

The conference has become a fixture at the Beverly Hilton hotel on the edge of Beverly Hills, growing to the point that it appeared Monday that the facilities had readhed their limits.