The world’s decision-makers are gathering in Switzerland this week for the World Economic Forum meeting. The annual event of business and government leaders is expecting a solid turnout as it returns to its traditional winter time slot following two years of covid disruptions.
According to the official list, which is accurate as of Jan. 10, 2,658 attendees are registered for the event. Among them are heads of state, business royalty, actual royalty, media honchos, and academics. There are hundreds more participating on the sidelines, whether organizing, catering, or attending corporate events along the promenade that cuts through the center of Davos.
Let’s take a brief look at the breakdown of official participants who might be spotted on the Swiss slopes in the coming week.
🌍 International participation in Davos
Over 100 countries and regions are represented this year at Davos. With 703 people registered, Americans constitute 27% of all participants. All told, two-thirds of the attendees are from 10 nations.
💰 Wealth at Davos
While there will be plenty of wealth concentrated in the mountain resort, nine of the world’s ten richest people will be missing. The exception: Gautam Adani, chairman of India’s Adani Group and currently the third-richest person in the world, according to Forbes. He also attended the 2022 WEF meeting, which was delayed until May because of covid.
🗳️ Political leaders at Davos
It’s common for heads of state and other high-level government officials to show up in Davos. This year, there is only one G8 leader: Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany. He won’t be lonely, though; the heads of at least 40 nations will make an appearance, including Belgium, Colombia, Ecuador, Finland, Greece, Iraq, Korea, Mozambique, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
Other public figures planning to attend include:
- 🇬🇧 Former UK prime minister Tony Blair
- 🇺🇦 Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko.
- 🇺🇸 US climate change envoy John Kerry
For the most-represented nations, however, the majority of attendees are not public officials.
💼 Business leaders at Davos
There will be at least 634 CEOs in Davos this year, or nearly one in four attendees. Big names include:
- 🛢️ Wael Sawan (Shell)
- 🛒 Andy Jassy (Amazon)
- 🏦 Jane Fraser (Citigroup)
- 💉 Stéphane Bancel (Moderna)
- 💸 Laurence Fink (BlackRock)
Some companies send large delegations to the event. Ten organizations have seven or more participants registered. One of the top ten is Stanford University.
📰 Members of the media at Davos
Hundreds of journalists from around the world will descend on Davos this week. In fact, two of the ten companies with the most representatives are media organizations: CNBC and the Wall Street Journal.
- ✍️ Top editors: Sally Buzzbee from the Washington Post, Matthew Murray of the Wall Street Journal, and David Walmsley of the Globe and Mail
- 🗞 Well-known reporters: Martin Wolf from the Financial Times and Ina Fried from Axios
- 👋 Quartz’s own executive editor Heather Landy and global news editor Samanth Subramanian (sign up for their Need to Know: Davos newsletter)
🤔 Other interesting Davos attendees
Additional attendees include a handful of well-known names, and a bit of royalty:
- 🎭 British actor Idris Elba, and his wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba, who is a UN goodwill ambassador
- 💵 Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and founder of private equity firm Affinity Partners, Jared Kushner
- 🎤 Member of the Black Eyed Peas and CEO of i.am/Angel Foundation, will.i.am, also known as Will Adams
- 👑 Máxima (queen of the Netherlands), Mathilde (queen of the Belgians), and Albert II of Monaco (prince of Monaco)