Heartland to Host Luncheon Honoring Milton Friedman Legacy

Published April 26, 2008

No economist in the twentieth century was more influential than Milton Friedman, who passed away in November 2006, and the impact of his ideas will extend far into the future.

To honor Friedman, and to recognize his influence and examine its full import, July 31, 2008 has been declared the second annual Milton Friedman Legacy Day — a celebration of the economist’s positive impact on American life and business, and the spread of the benefits of free markets to nations around the globe.

Organizations including academia, private-sector companies, publishers, and think tanks will mark the day in a variety of presentations that focus on Milton Friedman the economist.

But Robert Chitester, a long-time confidant of Friedman and CEO of Free To Choose Media, the company that produced Friedman’s seminal PBS-TV series, “Free To Choose,” has another idea.

Recalled Chitester, “I shared well over a hundred intimate dinner gatherings with Milton, [his wife] Rose, and a few others, plus numerous private chats at their homes in Vermont and Sea Ranch, and their apartment in San Francisco. He was the most consistent and effective advocate for freedom I’ve ever met.

“Yet even at 94, he maintained a child-like curiosity about people and their endeavors. He was passionate about physical endeavors as well as intellectual challenges, his smile was open and welcoming, his laugh spontaneously explosive. Those who disagreed with his ideas often portrayed him as tough and relentless. As we celebrate his world-changing scholarship, I want people to remember the ever-present twinkle in the eye of this man I was so fortunate to call friend.”

Chitester will share that view of Milton Friedman at the second annual Friedman Legacy Lunch presented by The Heartland Institute on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at Lloyd’s restaurant, at the corner of Madison Street and Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago.

Registration opens at 11:30 a.m., with lunch served at 12:00 noon. Cost $20. Seating is limited, so please register today by calling Tonya Houston at 312/377-4000. Or register online at http://friedmanlegacylunch.eventsbot.com/