January 25, 2008
Davos, day three - Dancing with CEOs, dining with Bill Gates
They say money can’t buy you love. I have always been a bit sceptical about that. But it certainly can’t buy you a sense of rhythm. That much was clear from the McKinsey party in the Hotel Belvedere last night.
McKinsey always have a good bash, largely because they bring back the same New York soul band year after year. I’ve forgotten their name, but they were so good they played at Paul McCartney’s wedding to Heather Mills. You can almost see the Bad Karma hovering over them as they perform. By midnight the dance floor is packed with CEOs and bankers strutting their stuff. It is not a pretty sight. Every now and then, one of the backing singers leaps into the crowd and dances with whichever sweaty hedge-fund manager is closest to hand. I hope they are well paid. (The dancers, not the hedge fund managers.)
Tonight’s hot ticket is the Google party - also at the Belvedere. Before that I am having dinner with Bill Gates, along with some colleagues from the FT. Impressive, I know. But Gates seems to have a thing about British journalists. Earlier in the week I bumped into some friends from The Economist who said casually, "We’re having dinner with Bill Gates, tonight." It gave me great satisfaction to be able to say, "Yeah, we’re having dinner with him on Friday." They were pleasingly crestfallen.
The trouble with these Davos dinner is that they are all "off the record" - so I would imperilling my promising friendship with the world’s richest man if I were to repeat any of his table talk. I suppose I can probably let slip some uncontroversial details. He knows a lot about computers. And earlier in the week, he gave a big and well-received speech about the need for companies to spend more money on philanthropy and development. That is very Davos.
Last night I went to another dinner - this one part of the official programme - where I sat near Jeroen van der Veer, the CEO of Shell. This one was about oil drilling in the Arctic. Unfortunately, it too was "on background". But I don’t think I am breaking any confidences by revealing that Mr Van de Veer is mustard keen. I am sure that it will all be done very responsibly and with the utmost regard for the rights of the polar bears.
I would have rather had dinner with Fred Bergsten…now that would be special and worthwhile…
Posted by: Lisa-Helene Lawson | January 25th, 2008 at 7:32 pm | Report this commentSTAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
Davos — disgusting party of the filthy rich (and their lackeys). What has the World Economic Forum ever achieved? Whatever happened to the World Social Forum held in Brazil? (Lula — he’s a man to admire).
Here’s a suggestion for party music at the Belvedere: why not dance to Led Zepellin’s Stairway to Heaven? It begins easy enough.
I am proud that this year there is almost no Israeli delegation, especially pleased that the minister of finance and governor of the Bank of Israel decided they had more useful things to do.
Posted by: RCS | January 25th, 2008 at 7:37 pm | Report this commentWhereas the EU slaps microsoft with record fines for violating antitrust law, the UK government saw fit to present him with a knighthood for “services rendered to the United Kingdom and its peoples”.
How does one reconcile that? Few people understand the nature of the nature of Microsoft’s ongoing violation of the law, journalists rarely (care to) understand how server software has become central to the infrastructure of the internet and how interoperability was under threat from microsoft’s dominance of the desktop. They rarely (care to) understand how microsofts selling software such as a browser and media player by bundling them with the OS have intentionally destroyed companies and market segments.
At this point in time the EU has charged Microsoft over US $1b in fines; I’m sure Gates would have loved to spend such ill gotten gains on philanthropy instead as well.
Shell is doing some very interesting things with the extraction of crude from tar sands, but off the record i’m guessing Russia is a much more ‘inflammable’ topic. All those railroad tracks heading towards Sakhalin are state owned nowadays.
Posted by: felix drost, amsterdam | January 25th, 2008 at 8:26 pm | Report this commentwell I sure you can find a way to allow some of this “on background” talk/thinking to filter through some of your future writing…otherwise what’s the point in all this…unless you just like to party!
Posted by: Lisa-Helene Lawson | January 25th, 2008 at 10:40 pm | Report this commentGideon can’t really relax because he must avoid running into Bono, a prospect amplified by the orbital eccentricities of celestial bodies caught reinforcing each others gravitas. How can one not but enjoy the anticipation of feeling such potentially sweeping orbital assists? It was Marx who said “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member!” The dread realization of Davos is how terribly human really everyone is and that we’re all helpless members.
Posted by: felix drost, amsterdam | January 25th, 2008 at 11:29 pm | Report this comment“…not a pretty sight…”
Posted by: Bert | January 27th, 2008 at 2:53 pm | Report this commentThe link below will take you to a Davos 08 video of David Gergen, senior spokesman for both Bush-41 and Clinton presidencies. He is disco dancing. You have been warned.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02CHxCIE2QY
http://tinyurl.com/ywdpnd
Re Davos attendance:- The above internal White House row caught my eye. (Article from NY Times).
Hardly the actions of a self-confident superpower!
P
Posted by: Pacifist | January 30th, 2008 at 2:17 pm | Report this commentRE: Davos attendance.
The Business.view column on Economist.com describes thus the manners of the Iranian delegation:
QUOTE
There were lots of leading Iranians in Davos, most of whom seemed determined to rock the boat, by snubbing women who dared to ask them questions, accusing the WEF of being in the grip of Zionists, and so on. Their reward? A procession of concerned Davosians telling Zalmay Khalilzad, America’s charming ambassador to the United Nations, that perhaps his policy of “congagement” (contain and engage) with Iran makes sense after all.
UNQUOTE
Hardly the actions of an aspiring regional power!
Here is the link to the full article:
http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/businessview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10596943
Posted by: RCS | January 30th, 2008 at 2:40 pm | Report this commentHi RCS,
I think the reason most of those Iranians were at Davos was because they could afford to get away from a dismal winter of gas shortages in Iran.
What a debacle
Zalmay Khalilzad is a fluent Farsi speaker and would be a good envoy for the US to send to parley with Iran, post Bush.
I see that Giuliani got a “rude” awakening in Florida so that is one of the chief warmongers out of the way. McCain will probably win the Republican nomination and lose to the Donkeys’ party on account of his inability with economics. Democrats will then desptach Zalmay to plead with Tehran in Farsi, as part of the Democ-rats leaving the sinking ship (a.k.a. US’s ignominious retreat from Iraq.)
As they say, most politics is local. The US Republicans will lose mainly because of domestic economic, not international issues. Longer term, the Tehran regime will fall, not because of international pressures, but because they are such lousy managers of the economy.
Best,
P
Posted by: Pacifist | January 30th, 2008 at 3:04 pm | Report this commentI didn’t notice Hillary Clinton had a PhD in economics…
McCain is the most deserving candidate. A few posts back I predicted he would win. I think events since then are justifying my intuition.
Posted by: RCS | January 30th, 2008 at 3:45 pm | Report this commentI think JMC is too old, bald, short and devoid of economics experience and his war agenda is passé. I doubt if the young and the females will vote for him.
I am already bored of the American elections…pity this out-of-control satellite that is supposed to fall on N America isn’t an asteroid!!
P (is only joking!)
Posted by: Pacifist | January 30th, 2008 at 4:30 pm | Report this comment