Manhattan Institute honors Stanley F. Druckenmiller and The Honorable Nikki Haley at its 18th annual Alexander Hamilton Award dinner

NEW YORK, NY (5/3/18) — On May 2, The Manhattan Institute honored Stanley F. Druckenmiller, Chairman and CEO, Duquesne Family Office LLC, and The Honorable Nikki Haley, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, at its 18th annual Alexander Hamilton Award dinner last night in New York City. Druckenmiller was introduced by Kenneth G. Langone, Chairman of Invemed Associates, Inc., while Haley was introduced by The Honorable Ron Dermer, Israeli Ambassador to the United States.

Manhattan Institute Chairman Paul Singer opened the evening discussing the “opportunity for intellectual leadership” in our changing times and the shared belief in “economic choice and individual responsibility” by the Manhattan Institute and the night’s honorees.

Notable remarks throughout the night included:

“Capitalism is under attack, but we have been moving further and further away from capitalism with each passing presidential administration. So, my advice is simple. Can we try capitalism? Real capitalism. Give it a chance. Not the increasingly bastardized version we have been practicing the last two decades. And then let’s just see whether a capitalist economic system is the most effective way to bring about broad-based prosperity and the flourishing of human dignity.” — Stanley F. Druckenmiller

“[I]t is clear that free market ideas are under an attack the likes of which we have not seen in many decades.” — The Honorable Ron Dermer

“Washington may be a swamp, but the U.N. has long been a cesspool. Well, after sixteen months of wading through that cesspool, Ambassador Haley is as unsullied as ever. She has unapologetically defended the United States and she has taken on Iran, North Korea, and so many others with a moral clarity that we have not seen for many, many years.” — The Honorable Ron Dermer.

Ambassador Haley’s acceptance speech brought the nearly 700-person audience to their feet. She described the similarities between her work and that of the Manhattan Institute, stating, “We both work behind enemy lines in New York City. And we’re both optimists. We’re trying to bring facts and reason to a lot of people that don’t want to hear anything of the sort.”

Discussing her work at the United Nations, Haley said “The UN is set up to treat all countries the same way. But all countries are not fundamentally the same. When you try to pretend that there’s no difference between the good guys and the bad guys, that’s always a victory for the bad guys. We suffer, and the world suffers.”

She continued, “It’d be easier to not rock the boat. But in America we don’t celebrate the mob. We celebrate the person that has the courage and conviction to stand up to the mob.”

Manhattan Institute President Larry Mone capped off the night with heartfelt thanks and gratitude for the honorees and the Manhattan Institute staff who made the night possible.

For a transcript of the evening’s remarks, please contact Michele Jacob, mjacob@manhattan-institute.org.

For photo highlights from the event, click here. Video will also be available shortly.

ABOUT THE MANHATTAN INSTITUTE
The mission of the Manhattan Institute is to develop and disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility. The Institute serves as a leading voice of free-market ideas, shaping political culture since our founding in 1977. Ideas that have changed the United States and its urban areas for the better—welfare reform, tort reform, proactive policing, and supply-side tax policies, among others—are at the heart of MI’s legacy. While continuing with what is tried and true, we are constantly developing new ways of advancing our message in the battle of ideas. In 2017, the Manhattan Institute celebrated its 40th anniversary.