❄️Davos: Where the elite meet on snowy streets

This week in the Alpine resort town of Davos, Switzerland, thousands of business bigwigs, world leaders, celebrities and [carefully dressed hangers-on]( will gather to propose solutions to pressing global issues, negotiate business deals on the sidelines, and hobnob at [cheesy piano bars](. (Quartz made a complete list of who’s there [here]( Founded in 1971, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual flagship conference has been the premier event for the world’s elite, and their admirers, for nearly half a century. While the event’s cause may be noble, the price to attend is so steep that critics [decry]( it as an “overpriced, ineffective ‘talking shop.’” There’s no denying that some important breakthroughs have taken place at Davos over the years, from preventing war to increasing the availability of vaccinations across the globe. Also some [really epic parties](. In some ways, the [“world’s most expensive networking event”]( seems [exactly like]( your run-of-the-mill conference, except for the world-changing ideating and snow boots. More people than actually attend the event show up simply to hang out on its outskirts, making the town, otherwise an upscale ski resort, “a weird mix of world leaders combined with socialites, social climbers, party crashers, paparazzi, prostitutes, and the occasional Davos local who generally finds this time of year a complete nuisance,” in the words of [Pando’s Matthew Prince.]( As for the rest of us, well, we can obsess from afar. All week we’ll be exploring Davos-related topics, and if you’re curious to follow along with the conference itself, you can sign up for Quartz’s special edition [Davos Daily Brief](. Got your boots on? 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Sponsored by [Quartz Obsession] Davos January 21, 2019 Wish you were here --------------------------------------------------------------- This week in the Alpine resort town of Davos, Switzerland, thousands of business bigwigs, world leaders, celebrities and [carefully dressed hangers-on]( will gather to propose solutions to pressing global issues, negotiate business deals on the sidelines, and hobnob at [cheesy piano bars](. (Quartz made a complete list of who’s there [here]( Founded in 1971, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual flagship conference has been the premier event for the world’s elite, and their admirers, for nearly half a century. While the event’s cause may be noble, the price to attend is so steep that critics [decry]( it as an “overpriced, ineffective ‘talking shop.’” There’s no denying that some important breakthroughs have taken place at Davos over the years, from preventing war to increasing the availability of vaccinations across the globe. Also some [really epic parties](. In some ways, the [“world’s most expensive networking event”]( seems [exactly like]( your run-of-the-mill conference, except for the world-changing ideating and snow boots. More people than actually attend the event show up simply to hang out on its outskirts, making the town, otherwise an upscale ski resort, “a weird mix of world leaders combined with socialites, social climbers, party crashers, paparazzi, prostitutes, and the occasional Davos local who generally finds this time of year a complete nuisance,” in the words of [Pando’s Matthew Prince.]( As for the rest of us, well, we can obsess from afar. All week we’ll be exploring Davos-related topics, and if you’re curious to follow along with the conference itself, you can sign up for Quartz’s special edition [Davos Daily Brief](. Got your boots on? 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Ready to go deeper? --------------------------------------------------------------- We’re tired of all the shouting matches and echo chambers on social media, and thought you might be, too. So we decided to build a place for a smart discussion about the news. Available for iOS and Android. [Try the Quartz app]( Giphy First things first How much does it cost to attend? --------------------------------------------------------------- The WEF holds its numbers pretty close to its chest, and has a [dizzying array of membership categories]( which determine how much a company might spend and what level of access their representatives are granted in return. But, for example: The roughly 120 organizations that pay the WEF an annual fee of 600,000 Swiss francs ($600,000) to be “strategic partners” get four all-access tickets to the forum—which cost an additional 27,000 francs ($27,000) each. (Because it’s had a [problem growing female attendance]( over the years, if one of the four people an organization brings is a woman, the WEF lets them buy a badge for a fifth delegate.) Sponsored by Refinitiv The true cost of financial crime is more expensive than we think. --------------------------------------------------------------- Refinitiv’s recent financial crime survey revealed that 47% of respondent companies were a victim of at least one financial crime in the last 12 months, resulting in an average $1.45 trillion in lost revenue. Refinitiv is committed to uncovering the true scale of financial crime and creating the data and coalitions that will inform us on how to fight it together.[Join the conversation #FightFinancialCrime]( By the digits [11,000:]( Population of the town of Davos for most of the year [30,000:]( Population during the WEF conference [$8 million:]( Amount Switzerland estimated it would spend on security, which includes strategically placed snipers on rooftops, in 2017 [$43 (38 Swiss francs):]( Cost of a hot dog at the Steigenberger Grandhotel Belvédère, a conference hotspot [28:]( Number of heads of state who attended Davos in 2018 [22%:]( Share of female delegates in 2019, up from 18% in 2017 [21:]( Number of years since North Korea has sent a delegate to Davos [1,700:]( Number of private jets that arrived in Davos for the 2015 conference [5:]( People to a room in accommodations for the hundreds of extra hotel support staff flown in for the conference [580 million:]( Children vaccinated by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which was formed at the event [70%:]( Proportion of the “world’s daily output of self-congratulation” found at Davos, according to the Financial Times Reuters/Denis Balibouse Person of Interest The WEF’s founding father --------------------------------------------------------------- First things first: “World Economic Forum” doesn’t refer to the conference itself, but a not-for-profit organization founded in 1971 with the mission of “improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.” WEF was the brainchild of Klaus Schwab, who at the time of the organization’s founding was a 33-year-old German business professor at the University of Geneva with [five degrees]( in mechanical engineering and economics under his belt. He dubbed the organization “the European Management Forum,” but intended for it to teach American-style management tactics. By 1973, world events and the political climate had changed enough that the conference shifted focus to include economics and social issues. A year later saw an influx of political attendees, and the event eventually grew to the powerhouse it is today. Schwab has since gone on to establish several other organizations and author a number of tomes, most recently [his take on our current technological era]( which he’s dubbed [“the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”]( “I would call the phase we are in innovative destruction, or perhaps destructive innovation,” [he recently told Time](. “When you focus on the destructive part, it can make you pessimistic. What we try to do is see the innovative part.” Critics say Schwab sometimes fawns over [problematic world leaders]( and that the conference has at times avoided officially docketing discussions of topics, like LGBT rights, that make certain heads of state squeamish. “The way the WEF works, if someone like Putin makes it clear that he doesn’t want any such panel to take place, then the panel won’t take place,” [Felix Salmon wrote for Reuters in 2014](. “Indeed, the WEF organizers, who constitutionally err on the side of overcaution, would probably veto any such panel just in case a powerful head of state might object.” At 80, Schwab is still an executive chairman of the organization—and [reportedly]( he’ll ban you from the conference for an indictment, or if your company goes bankrupt, or you retire—and is apparently still no stranger to the dance floor after a long day spent solving the world’s problems. Brief history [1988:]( The Davos Declaration is [signed]( at the conference, preventing a war between Turkey and Greece [1992:]( South African president F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela have a milestone sit-down meeting at Davos [1994:]( Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres reach a draft agreement on Gaza and Jericho at the event [2000:]( Controversy arises over the WEF’s for-profit initiatives, but an investigation by Swiss regulators [finds no improprieties](. The same year, Bill Clinton becomes the first sitting US president to attend the WEF—they [typically avoid it]( because of the public perception of elitism. (This didn’t stop Donald Trump from showing up in 2018 and planning to go in 2019 before the government shutdown.) [2001:]( Masked anti-globalization protesters rioted in Zurich after attempting unsuccessfully to reach Davos. The same year saw one of the first high-profile acts of “hacktivism,” when protesters broke into WEF database, stealing information (including Jeff Bezos’s home phone number), which they sent to a Swiss newspaper. [2002:]( Kofi Annan launches the Global Health Initiative at the WEF Have a friend who would enjoy our Obsession with Davos? [ [Forward link to a friend](mailto:?subject=Thought you'd enjoy.&body=Read this Quartz Obsession email – to the email – Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann Origin story Before WEF: TB --------------------------------------------------------------- The Financial Times once [poked fun]( at the unique weather patterns in Davos, reporting that the town produces extra-special conditions when the World Economic Forum convention comes to town: “Davos conferences, cynics often say, produce a very large volume of hot air that frequently hangs over the town in a cloud of smug.” Jokes aside, the high-valley microclimate made the town of Davos famous long before it became a hub for international economic discussion. The crisp air and incredible scenery was considered one of the greatest ways to fight tuberculosis; patients began flocking to the area in the mid-19th century to take part in rigorous treatment [including]( mountain hikes, outdoor naps, and lots of wine and milk. Thomas Mann set his influential novel The Magic Mountain [in a Davos sanatorium](. Treasure Island author [Robert Louis Stevenson]( continued to write short stories during his TB treatments there, and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle [moved]( to town to benefit his ailing wife. Conan Doyle discovered skiing during his residency—and fell madly, head-over-heels in love. After skiing the 14-mile Maienfelder Furka Pass between Davos and nearby Arosa, he wrote an article titled “An Alpine Pass on Ski” that rhapsodized about hitting the slopes. It was the beginning of the skiing tourism boom in Switzerland, and to this day, a bronze plaque in Davos commemorates Conan Doyle’s contributions. Quotable “You always feel like you are in the wrong place in Davos, like there is some better meeting going on somewhere in one of the hotels that you really ought to be at. Like the real Davos is happening in secret somewhere.” —[Steve Case]( founder of AOL “They look as if they do know what they are doing, but they don’t.” —[Lord Digby Jones]( British businessman, on Davos attendees Giphy Pop quiz How did Bono once refer to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting? “Fat cats in the snow”“Asshats in the Alps”“Slaughter on the slopes”“The peak of banal” Correct. Bono was including himself in that 2006 statement—he was in Davos to launch Product(Red). “I should say winners in the snow,” he immediately corrected himself. Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Kevin J. Delaney Rainbow connection(s) --------------------------------------------------------------- Simply getting registered for the WEF isn’t enough. Official attendees are sorted into categories which determine access to various venues and events. [According]( to Felix Salmon’s 2012 reporting at Reuters, the colorful caste system, denoted with badges, is somewhat mysterious but not illegible. The general format, which changes subtly from year to year, involves different colors and demarcations for different types of attendees. For example: In the past, badges with a hologram denoted access to IGWEL—the Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders—for which you more or less have to be a head of state, fina