Wednesday, August 6, 2025

July 11, 2025

World’s Most Influential CEOs Arrive At ‘Summer Camp For Billionaires’ In Sun Valley

This year, the high-profile attendees are said to be mulling over the influence and emergence of artificial intelligence during the exclusive weekend getaway.

[Image: SFGate / Facebook]

The world’s most influential executives from tech, media and finance are gathering in Sun Valley, Idaho, for Allen & Co.’s annual conference, often referred to as “summer camp for billionaires.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Disney CEO Bob Iger and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were pictured entering the lodge on Wednesday. According to insiders, the day’s agenda includes interviews with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and AIC Chairman Barry Diller.

The secretive Sun Valley retreat has been organised by the Allen and Company investment firm since 1983 for power players in tech, media and finance. This year, the high-profile attendees are said to be mulling over the influence and emergence of artificial intelligence during the exclusive weekend getaway.

 

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Also spotted at Sun Valley were newlyweds Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, as well as Ivanka Trump, who had tabloids fawning over her “form-fitting outfit”.

The public doesn’t get to see what actually goes on inside the conference, but the attendees’ accessories, jump ropes, cowboy hats, and bicycles kept the press entertained while the people who run the world made their deals behind closed doors.

As usual, there was quite a bit of focus on the Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey, Idaho, which was experiencing the most hectic time of the year during what locals call “fly-in” and “fly-out” days.

Besides the normal bustling summer tourism season, the conference “definitely makes it the busiest week of the year for us here,” Tim Burke, director of the airport, told the Observer. This year, the airport expects 150 to 175 arrivals of corporate jets to drop their precious cargo.

Friedman Memorial Airport [Image: Flickr] 
The airport requires months of preparation to handle the logistics demands of the annual jet influx, a task made even more challenging by its single runway and the rugged terrain that surrounds it. Around four months prior to the “fly-in” date, the airport begins coordination meetings with both its local air traffic control tower and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“We want to ensure, well ahead of time, that we’re on the same page with arrival routes, departure procedures, ground procedures, and that clear lines of communication are established,” said Burke.“While I’m not naive to the fact that not everybody is a fan of aeroplane noise, I think the overall impact on our local economy – our hotels, restaurants, breweries, transportation, companies, and boutique craft stores – is positive.”

Let’s hope the weekend has some positive outcomes for the rest of humanity.

[Source: Financial Express]