Elon Musk and Warren Buffett to Skip Annual Millionaire Camp. What Matters at the Retreat Is What’s Out of Sight

Every year since 1983, a group of top executives, founders and billionaires from a variety of industries have gathered for the Sun Valley Conference, held at the exclusive Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho and hosted by investment bank Allen & Co. Many have dubbed the event “summer camp for billionaires.”

But while the golfing, fly-fishing, horseback riding, and conferences are led by startup leaders or seasoned Silicon Valley sharks, this camp isn’t about singing around a campfire. Some of the biggest deals in recent years are being made in the discreet conversations in the hallways.

Distinguished guests. Regulars at the camp include Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy, ​​Peter Thiel, Spotify’s Daniel E.K., Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Disney’s Bob Iger and Sam Altman. These are just some of the names on this year’s guest list, which the American magazine had access to. Diversity.

Absence that tastes like leavingThere are some notable absences from the billionaire camp this year. For the first time since its inception, veteran investor Warren Buffett, 94, will not be present for his appointment. His place will be taken by Greg Abel, officially named by the Oracle of Omaha himself as his successor at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway.

Following the death of his 99-year-old partner Charlie Munger at the end of 2023, Buffett has accelerated the exit of the first line of representation from the company he founded. Without one of his favorite annual events, the veteran investor is taking the next step in the transition process.

Elon Musk is also not in sightAnother notable absence from the 2024 event will be Elon Musk. The South African tycoon has attended previous editions of the conference, but he has been increasingly less likely to attend these gatherings with other millionaires and Silicon Valley influencers.

Apparently, as indicated LuckIt’s likely that Elon Musk is avoiding direct questions that might make him uncomfortable, or crossing paths with other millionaires like Sam Altman or Bill Gates, with whom he’s had recent fallings out.

If these corridors could talk…If the halls of the Sun Valley Lodge could talk, they would likely reveal much of what their walls have heard. Details about how Jeff Bezos and Donald Graham, the former owner of the Washington Post, negotiated the purchase of the newspaper between walks. Or perhaps how the executives of Disney and the ABC network tied up the final loose ends of their merger during a 1995 episode, as reported. Los Angeles Times in those days.

A very politicized publicationThe 2024 exhibition comes at a time of particular political significance: following a change of government in the United Kingdom, the rise of far-right populists in France and the eve of a US presidential election complicated by doubts about Biden’s health and Trump’s legal troubles.

In this context, three governors who are running as possible Biden replacements (Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Wes Moore of Maryland) are planning to attend the event to ensure support among the richest and most powerful people on the planet. It is possible that after the event, some of the Democratic candidates will dare to raise their voices to remove the incumbent president from his re-election bid.

In Hatake | In the 19th century, an American millionaire decided to invade countries alone. He founded two republics, of which he was the president.

Image | Sun Valley Resort (Don Collier), Flickr (Smithsonian), Wikimedia Commons (GODL-India)