While there are plenty of A-list delegates coming to the WEF smugfest this year, from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to US climate envoy John Kerry, not to mention the business mainstays like JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon and, of course, Bill Gates, the guest list looks considerably less heavyweight than usual.
There is no US president, no UK prime minister and even Emmanuel Macron, the French president is giving the meeting the cold shoulder – little wonder given these nations, and so many others, are battling a cost of living crisis back home.
There is no George Soros, either.
This could be a good sign. The WEF’s first winter meeting in Davos since 2020 comes as economic heavyweights are playing by different rules, with companies moving supply chains closer to home, strategic stockpiling picking up pace and corporate executives who once extolled free trade appearing increasingly wary of rising geopolitical risks. (cnn.com)
“I think Davos is totally irrelevant,” said Rana Foroohar, a Financial Times columnist, whose book “Homecoming” argues that a new shift toward localization is displacing the forces of globalization that have been dominant over the past half century.
The world’s highfalutin ‘elites’ will once again arrive at Davos next week for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting by private jet and motorcade to discuss a “net-zero future”. They are not the elites. They are hypocritical parasites.#WEF#Davos2023 pic.twitter.com/MLL97DfFFz
— James Melville (@JamesMelville) January 12, 2023
How weird is Klaus?
The World Economic Forum's Davos summit starts tomorrow. Its founder, Klaus Schwab, is one of the most influential men alive. He even participated in the G-20 summit of world leaders last November.
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) January 16, 2023
Why is that? And who, exactly, is Klaus Schwab?https://t.co/wSSU4N24go
Let’s hope they are imploding. They deserve to!
If there’s one lesson we can take out of this crisis… it’s the WEF should be shut down, all young global leaders removed from government, and Klaus Schwab locked in prison. pic.twitter.com/pyskqFRQ9J
— Pelham (@Resist_05) January 5, 2023