Inequality and unease are rising as elite Davos event opens with pro-business Trump set to attend

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DAVOS, Switzerland -- Corporate chiefs and government leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump swarm into Davos, Switzerland, this week, joining an elite annual meeting that promotes dialogue and economic progress -- even as a domineering tone from Washington has upended the global order and billionaires have reaped trillions in new wealth as the poor lag behind.

The World Economic Forum, the think tank whose four-day annual meeting opens Tuesday, has a stated motto of “improving the state of the world,” and this year’s theme is “A spirit of dialogue.” One question is whether Trump will speak with attendees -- or at them.

Nearly 3,000 attendees from the interlinked worlds of business, advocacy and policy will tackle issues including the growing gap between rich and poor; AI’s impact on jobs; concerns about geo-economic conflict; tariffs that have rocked longstanding trade relationships; and an erosion of trust between communities and countries.

“It’s really going to be a discussion at a very important moment ... geopolitics is changing,” said Mirek Dušek, a forum managing director in charge of programming. “Some people think we’re in a transition. Some people think we’ve already entered a new era. But I think it’s undeniable that you are seeing a more competitive, more contested landscape.”

Trump set to loom large

Trump’s third visit to Davos as president comes as U.S. allies worry about his ambition to take over Greenland, Latin America is grappling with his efforts to reap Venezuela’s oil, and his hardball tactics toward Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have stirred concern among business leaders and lawmakers alike.

Trump’s peace-making credentials also will be on the table: An announcement looms about his " Board of Peace " for Gaza, and he and his administration are expected to have bilateral meetings in the warren of side rooms at the Congress Center.

The U.S. leader seems to revel in strolling through the Davos Congress Center and among executives who back his business-minded, money-making approach to politics.

Critics will also be nearby: He’s blown hot and cold recently with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, an invitee; Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran, whose leaders face U.S. sanctions over their handling of recent protests, was set to speak but organizers on Monday canceled his appearance, saying “the tragic loss of civilian lives” means “it is not right” for the government to be represented.

The two likeliest counterweights to Trump’s administration on the international scene -- China and the European Union -- get top billing on the first day: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will speak Tuesday morning, right before Vice-Premier He Lifeng, China’s “economic czar” -- as Dušek put it.

Founder Schwab sits out, as Nvidia chief makes a debut

The forum will be without its founder, Klaus Schwab, who hosted the first event in Davos 55 years ago focusing on business, only to see it since balloon into a catchall extravaganza. He stepped down in April. New co-chairs Larry Fink, the head of investment firm BlackRock, and Andre Hoffman, vice chair of pharmaceuticals firm Roche, are in charge.

This year will also mark the debut appearance of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, arguably the world’s most important tech leader today, among some 850 CEOs and chairs of global companies -- along with celebrities like Hollywood actor and safe-water advocate Matt Damon.

The future of AI, its impact on business and work, and the prospects for artificial general intelligence will be key themes.

The presidents of Argentina, France, Indonesia, Syria and Ukraine will be among the dozens of national leaders on hand.

As rich-poor divide widens, trust in institutions falters

Leading public-relations firm Edelman reports in its annual trust barometer -- launched a quarter-century ago and this year surveying nearly 34,000 people in 28 countries -- that trade and recession fears have climbed to an all-time high, optimism is falling especially in developed countries, and “grievance” last year has morphed into broader “insularity.”

“People are retreating from dialogue and compromise, choosing the safety of the familiar over the perceived risk of change,” said CEO Richard Edelman. “We favour nationalism over global connection and individual gain over joint progress. Our mentality has shifted from ‘we’ to ‘me.’”

The survey found that about two-thirds of respondents said their trust was concentrated toward CEOs of the companies that they work for, fellow citizens or neighbors, while nearly 70 per cent believed institutional leaders -- such as from business or government -- deliberately mislead the public.

Oxfam, the world-renowned advocacy group, issued a report which showed that billionaire wealth rose by more than 16 per cent last year, three times faster than the past five-year average, to more than US$18 trillion. It drew on Forbes magazine data on the world’s richest people.

Oxfam said the $2.5 trillion rise in the wealth of billionaires last year would be enough to eradicate extreme poverty 26 times over. Their wealth has risen by more than four-fifths since 2020, while nearly half the world’s population lives in poverty, the group said.

The Trump administration has led a “pro-billionaire agenda,” the group said, through actions such as slashing taxes for the wealthiest, fostering the growth of AI-related stocks that help rich investors get richer, and thwarting efforts to tax giant companies.

The advocacy group wants more national efforts to reduce inequality, higher taxes on the ultra-rich to reduce their power, and greater limits on their ability to shape policy through lobbying.

With such concerns filtering through to policymakers, Trump, who is leading the biggest-ever U.S. delegation and will have about a half-dozen Cabinet secretaries in tow, is expected to discuss housing and affordability in his Davos speech on Wednesday.

Critics of WEF, and Trump, take to the streets

As usual, protesters rallied over the weekend in and near Davos ahead of the event. Hundreds of marchers scaled an Alpine road up to the town on Saturday behind a banner in German that read “No Profit from War” and alongside a truck that bore a sign: World Economic Failure.

Companies like Microsoft, India’s Tata Consultancy, social media titan TikTok and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike joined governments from countries like Nigeria, Qatar, Ukraine and the United States -- a USA House is making a debut this year -- to set up shop on the Davos Promenade to promote their services, products and national economies.

Davos storekeepers rent out their premises so that forum participants can have the prime real estate for the week.

Critics have long accused the annual meeting of generating more rhetoric than results, and they see Trump’s return as sign of the disconnect between haves and have-nots. Some say Swiss leaders who support the event and flock to Davos too are adding to the problem.

“It is worrying how Swiss politicians are courting warmongers and their profiteers in Davos,” said Mirjam Hostetmann, president of Switzerland’s Young Socialists, who have led protests against the event. “The WEF will never bring peace, but will only fuel escalation.”

By Jamey Keaten