“A DISCUSSION ON TRADE AND FINANCE”
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Intervento del ministro Giancarlo Giorgetti

April 17, 2026

Good afternoon, everybody. I am very happy to be here at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the oldest universities of the United States. It indeed dates back to 1749, when Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of this country, realised that Pennsylvania had no universities, while other important colonies, such as New York and Massachusetts, already had one.

Furthermore, I learnt the Wharton School was funded in 1881 by Joseph Wharton, an iron miner and self-educated businessman who donated 100,000 US Dollars to the University of Pennsylvania to establish a School specifically targeted to economy and finance, firmly believing in the central role of business to advance society. I found this history particularly inspiring, also for its analogy with my Alma Mater, Bocconi University in Milan, which was established in 1902 by…