Iranian Studies at University of Southern California

Michael Saei serves as the president at First Financial Capital, an equity-based direct portfolio lender in California that provides services to the commercial real estate industry. Beyond his obligations to the company, Michael Saei supports the Farhang Foundation and made significant contributions to the Freedom Statue. 

The Freedom Statue stands in the heart of Los Angeles and represents a joining of Iranian and American cultures and the shared values celebrated by the American people. Its design takes inspiration from the Cyrus Cylinder, a 2,600-year-old artifact considered to be the first declaration of human rights. The monument invokes the concepts of inclusiveness, respect for cultural diversity, and humanitarian ideals of freedom upheld by the US Constitution and pioneered by Cyrus the Great of Persia. 

Officially unveiled on July 4, 2017, the Iranian-American-led project was largely funded through crowd support worldwide. The Farhang Foundation gifted the public monument to Los Angeles during an inaugural Freedom Festival celebration attended by thousands. The unveiling was the culmination of years of planning, and organizers considered the Freedom Statue the “Statue of Liberty for the West Coast.”