Is this a joke? Something like 0.5-1% of households in Europe have >$1M in investable/liquid assets. In the rest of the world, that fraction is much lower. A $1M gift -- that doesn't appear to guarantee results, only an expedited process -- strongly selects for oligarchs and criminals. (e.g. Chinese embezzlers who like the fact that the US won't extradite to China.)

It’s likely designed to encourage taking out the capital as a loan.

A lot more people around the world can then afford to send their kids or pay off their gold cards across a 10-15 year timeframe.

*Obviously this depends on the income potential that is unlocked by having access to the U.S. workforce.

But what's the downside?

Anyone who can drop a million on permanent residence is most likely going to be significantly net positive for the economy.