It is one of the most exclusive meetings in the world.
Some of the most influential American business leaders and magnates are meeting this week at the “billionaires’ summer camp,” as the press has dubbed it, to discuss – behind closed doors – business matters, but also the political and economic destiny of the country.
With just four months to go until the US presidential election, the heated debate over President Joe Biden’s candidacy – after his questionable performance in the last debate with Donald Trump – is believed to be one of the topics that will feature heavily in conversations among attendees at the event that runs until Saturday.
The conference, hosted by investment bank Allen & Company in Sun Valley, a resort town in Idaho, has become a private gathering attended only by the elite of the elite since its inception four decades ago.
This year, figures such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Disney CEO Bob Iger, Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, media entrepreneur Shari Redstone, and celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey arrived on their private jets.
A few months away from the presidential election
The annual conference, first held in 1983, has been the birthplace of major trade deals and a place where leaders of major conglomerates discuss the future of their businesses as well as the direction of the United States.
Dominated by the presence of media and entertainment titans, alongside tech moguls, topics such as the impact of artificial intelligence on industry and the future of the industry are likely to be on the agenda. streamingas well as the multi-million dollar business of sports broadcasting.
In parallel, the US presidential elections – and their effects on the economy and business – will be at the centre of the talks.
This year, the conference comes days after the June 27 presidential debate in which President Joe Biden’s performance was sharply criticized, prompting calls from some Democratic lawmakers, donors and party insiders for him to step aside in favor of a younger candidate.
Doubts about President Biden’s ability to govern the country for the next four years have made the issue dominate the American political agenda.
Amid this debate, it is unlikely, according to the national press, that the magnates of the technology sector and the media and entertainment sectors will not discuss Biden’s possible replacements in the race for the White House and how this may affect the outcome of the election.
The president, however, has repeatedly said that he has no plans to abandon his re-election bid.
One of the key points that could influence a turn in the Democratic campaign is the weight of the opinion of donors, some of whom are part – directly or indirectly – of the exclusive circle gathered in Sun Valley.
Talk business
The US press is speculating that this year’s talks will include topics such as Bob Iger’s succession plan at Disney and the dizzying negotiations that led to the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media.
The future of Warner Bros. and Comcast is also expected to be another hot topic, as Disney mulls plans to buy a stake in Comcast.
In recent times, media companies are betting on associating their operations streaming with those of its competitors, to reduce costs and improve business profitability, say industry experts.
Disney and Warner Bros., for example, are bundling Disney+, Hulu and Max, while Comcast has a bundle that bundles Netflix, Apple TV+ and its own Peacock service, it said. Bloomberg.
Broadcasting rights are another big business that is often present in Sun Valley.
The National Basketball Association, for example, is negotiating a potential 11-year, $76 billion deal with Disney, Comcast and Amazon.
With these and other issues on the table, what is discussed in Sun Valley will have a major commercial impact.
And behind-the-scenes talks about the country’s political future could also provide a signal about the mood in the business sector ahead of the November election.
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