The Davos bunfight was yet another example of very important people meeting together to puff out their chests and pat themselves on the back, very pleased that they were actually attending. The expense of being there is gi-normous and it is estimated that over 1,500 private jets fly in and out of Davos during the event.
Company bosses, bankers, global politicians, statesmen and the like all strive to attend. Everyone who is anyone just has to be there, such luminaries include Sir David Attenborough, Shinzo Abe, Angela Merkel, Prince William and Jacinda Ardern – even Will-I-Am (goodness knows why).
I would estimate that just the ticket to the annual World Economic Forum costs you circa £20,000, whilst membership passes I would guess cost around another £50,000 – taking a basic cost to some £70,000. And that is just the basic cost! There are some 3,000 attendees (they are described as ‘Leaders’), of which just 22% are women.
Supposedly they all meet to discuss the most pressing matters that face society – geopolitics, globalisation, climate change, renewables, sustainability and gender equality being amongst the most talked about during the event.
I do have to ask what is the real benefit of Davos and how has it helped World Economics in previous years?