Over 2,500 political leaders and personalities from the finance and business world came to Davos for the annual meeting organized by the World Economic Forum, including a contingent of 75 of the richest people in the world, from Bill Gates to the “homeless billionaire” Nicolas Berggruen. Nicolas Berggruen, dubbed “homeless billionaire” because he travels the world in his private jet, staying at 5 star hotels, said in New York, in an interview with Bloomberg that he goes to Davos to talk with others about important issues, economic and political.
“Davos is a bit like speed-dating. The quality of the people at Davos is very high, and when you get someone to have a conversation, it can be great. But it’s tough to find those conversations because everyone is so stretched,” said the 51-year-old billionaire quoted by the news agency Bloomberg.
Some of the 75 billionaires, interviewed before the start of the meeting, consider that the situation of the European economy should be a priority at this conference.
“The euro crisis is entirely political, and is unfinished business. It’s a sovereignty issue, and all the countries in the region need to prepare to give up a little sovereignty,” added Berggruen.
One of the most important events of Wednesday morning at the opening meeting in Davos was the conference “Global financial context” where managing director of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon and Elliott Management founder, Paul Singer spoke. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti will give a speech at 5:45 PM, followed by a speech from the Director General of the IMF, Christine Lagarde. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, will speak Friday at the event “The Future of the Euro”.
“I can’t get in to some of the events because many of them are full. The side meetings you have with partners and bankers actually help with crowd control,” said Henry Ross Perot Jr., 54, chairman of Dallas-based Hillwood Development Co.
United States have the largest contingent of billionaires in Davos, 18, followed by India with 17 rich guests and Russia with 9. The list of participants includes Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the famous financier George Soros and Alisher Usmanov, the richest man in Russia. Bill Gates is, in fact, the richest participant at the summit, in the absence of Mexican mogul Carlos Slim.
Besides more than 250 conferences and speeches organized by the Forum, there are cultural events such as “Life Lessons in Jazz.”
Google recently announced that it will not hold the traditional private party that it usually hosts at the Davos event, without specifying reasons for canceling it. Google party has drawn in recent years personalities from politics and business, and celebrities.
Most of billionaires surveyed say they are concerned mainly about the situation in Europe, despite the positive signs lately.
Last year’s meeting took place in the context of Occupy movements. Several participants asked back then for more attention to social inequality and income disparity, but the situation did not materialize in open discussions. According to the survey conducted among participants, social inequalities and the tensions generated would be this year among the major concerns of the most powerful men in the world.
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