Corporate chiefs and government leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump swarm into Davos, Switzerland, this week, joining an elite annual meeting that promotes dialogue and economic progress, even as a domineering tone from Washington has upended the global order and billionaires have reaped trillions in new wealth as the poor lag behind.
The forum is a think tank and event organizer based in Geneva whose main event — the annual meeting — debuted in 1971. Since then, the meeting has swelled into a catch-all conference on issues as diverse as economic disparity, climate change, technology and global cooperation, as well as competition and conflict.
What to know:
- Who’s attending the conference? Organizers say a record of nearly 400 top political leaders, including more than 60 heads of state and government, and nearly 850 chairs and chief executives of many of the world’s leading companies. Headlining the lineup is U.S. President Donald Trump, who’s set to deliver a speech on Wednesday.
- What’s different this year? The geopolitical context has become incredibly complex this year: Trump’s pronouncements and policies on subjects as diverse as Venezuela, Greenland and Iran — not to mention his aggressive tariff policies — have upended the world order and raised questions about America’s role in the world. The advent of AI — its promise and perils — has also become a hot topic.
- Trump is set to loom large: Trump’s third visit to Davos as president comes as U.S. allies worry about his ambition to take over Greenland, Latin America is grappling with his efforts to reap Venezuela’s oil, and his hardball tactics toward Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have stirred concern among business leaders and lawmakers alike.