Idaho’s Summer Camp For Billionaires Returns to Sun Valley

Idaho is known for its growth, potatoes, and tourism. Idaho is also known for hosting the world's most prosperous, most influential leaders once a year in Sun Valley, Idaho.  

Last year, the Summer of Nothing canceled the annual pilgrimage of the world's rich and famous. The Allen & Company event will be a little different this year, reports the Wall Street Journal. The event is for adults only this year, and some events are hosted outside due to health concerns.  

It's not unusual to see titans like Mark Zuckerberg mountain biking around the area. Jeff Bezos, Barry Diller and will be part of the group of usual suspects. What makes this post-pandemic year more significant is the rise of the new money reports, the New York Post.  In years past, it was the traditional media titans that garnered all the attention. However, leaders from cryptocurrency and video games expect to join the club.  

Both of those industries have skyrocketed in value post-pandemic. How much money in terms of worth will be visiting Sun Valley this week?  NPR says more than 1 Trillion Dollars. It's not all work for the billionaires. In between meetings and conferences, they're spending the day like most Idahoans. Mountain biking, golf, and river trips are just a few of the activities where you'll see leaders of Amazon, Netflix, and Bitcoin participating.  

Speaking of Jeff Bezos, it was reported that he decided to buy the Washington Post while vacationing in Sun Valley. No word on whether he will visit the new Amazon fulfillment center in Nampa while he's in the state. Allen & Company has been hosting the Sun Valley event for over 40 years. The remoteness and privacy have helped business leaders buy, sell, and merge their businesses.

You have to be invited to this exclusive event. Proof of vaccination is required this year along with a negative Covid test, says the Daily Mirror.  Inforwars breaks down who will be in Sun Valley this week.

"The Big Tech executives that are expected to attend the Sun Valley conference this year include Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Netflix CEOs Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos.

The mainstream media representatives that have been invited to attend include Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, ViacomCBS chairwoman Shari Redstone, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, Discovery CEO David Zaslav, ABC News special contributor Diane Sawyer, CNN hosts Anderson Cooper and Van Jones, CNBC hosts Andrew Ross Sorkin and Becky Quick, CBS host Gayle King, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, and retired journalist Tom Brokaw.

And the current and former public officials who are on the invite list for the 2021 Sun Valley conference include Council of Foreign Relations President Richard Haass, former US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, former US Secretary of State James Baker, former Commander of the US Special Forces William McRaven, and former White House drug control policy advisor Kevin Sabet."

"The real reason why they meet in Sun Valley is that they get together in a comfortable place, and business leaders meet face to face," explains financial analyst Dave Petso of Petso Financial. "It's that human contact where the deals are made. In the end, people want to sit down and talk to one another. There is a chemistry to their interaction.  

Could we see some of these billionaires in the Treasure Valley? It's possible, please drop us a line and send us a photo if you happen to see Jeff Bezos in Nampa.