Earth Protect Blog

The rich and powerful have made their annual descent on a small resort town in Switzerland.

They're not going there to ski, but to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The event is better known by the name of its host city, Davos. The exclusive four-day event is an opportunity for the world's most influential people to meld minds over the world's economic and political challenges, and, more importantly, to network.

What is Davos?

Davos is the informal name of the annual four-day conference held by The World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. The non-profit organization's aim is to "engage the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas," according to its website.

Each year, business leaders and heads of state give lectures and speak on panels about topics ranging from gender equality and venture capital to mental health and climate change. The real magic happens behind closed doors, however: The rich and powerful use the event as a chance to network and hash out their differences out of the public eye. North and South Korean officials held their first ever ministerial-level meetings at Davos in 1989, while Greece and Macedonia settled their nearly three-decade-long conflict over Macedonia's name at the event in 2018, according to the BBC.

Who will be at Davos in 2020?

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Donald Trump are among the 53 heads of state that WEF officials said will be at the event, Reuters reported.

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and Greta Thunberg will also be there, according to Reuters. Priyanka Chopra Jonas is attending to speak at a fireside chat about global poverty, CNBC reported.

Notably, the only Iranian on the guest list, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, canceled his trip amid tensions with the United States over the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, Reuters reported.

About 3,000 business and political leaders are set to attend Davos in 2020, Reuters reported. Past attendees have included Bill Gates, Prince William, Marc Benioff, and George Soros, according to the BBC. Global pop icon Shakira, actors Forest Whitaker and Matt Damon, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, and former Alibaba chairman Jack Ma have also attended in the past, The New York Times reported.

How do people get access to Davos?

Attendance is by invitation only, according to CBS News. As a result, the conference has long faced criticism over a lack of diversity among attendees. Only 22% percent of Davos' 2019 attendees were women, the BBC reported. African and Asian markets are also underrepresented, former U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade and Foreign Policy magazine editor David Rothkopf told CBS.

How much does it cost to attend Davos?

The conference itself is free for most attendees, the BBC reported. However, anyone there to represent a company is charged 27,000 Swiss francs ($28,000) to attend.

Even those who don't pay for the conference are still on the hook for the WEF's membership fees, which start at 60,000 Swiss francs ($62,000) per year and can range up to 600,000 Swiss francs ($620,000) depending on the type of membership, according to the BBC.

Accommodations in Davos don't come cheap either. Hotels raise their prices to five times their normal rate during the conference, according to The New York Times. Rooms at two of the most popular hotels among attendees, the Belvedere and the InterContinental, are renting for $231 and $392 on nights in January, their websites show. Both hotels are sold out during the event. They also sell badges to allow access to common areas frequented by attendees, The Times reported.

Some attendees elect to rent chalets for themselves and their staff, which can cost up to $140,000 for the week, The Times reported.

What is on the agenda for 2020?

Davos' 2020 theme is "Stakeholders for a Sustainable and Cohesive World," according to the event's website.

On Tuesday alone, the program shows a panel on sustainability featuring Thunberg, a panel on the future of consumption with AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito, a panel on corporate leadership featuring Benioff and Bank of America CEO Brian T. Moynihan, a special address from Trump, and a performance from cellist Yo-Yo Ma. 

However, the most important thing that happens at Davos is networking.

What goes on after hours at Davos?

Various companies throw a wide range of events for Davos attendees, The New York Times reported. One year, JPMorgan Chase rented out the Kirchner Museum Davos to throw a cocktail party co-hosted by Dimon and former British prime minister Tony Blair. Google throws a party each year at the InterContinental Hotel that The Times called "the hottest ticket in town."

In 2013, former Facebook president Sean Parker threw an infamous party where "specially made stuffed animals illuminated dancers with lasers shot from their eyes" as John Legend performed, according to CBS News. Also in 2013, Benioff flew in fresh flowers and a live band from his adopted home of Hawaii, according to The Times.