DAVOS, Switzerland — Long maligned as out-of-touch plutocrats, thousands of World Economic Forum regulars are descending on the exclusive Swiss ski resort of Davos this week with a spring in their step, electrified by Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 return to the White House.
They’ll hear from the man himself Thursday, with Trump expected to address the forum via video just days after he’s inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States. WEF officials say they expect a “broad footprint” from the new administration to jet in later in the week — tech billionaire and Trump buddy Elon Musk may even drop by.
Meanwhile in Washington, after mounting a historic political comeback in part by railing against globalist elites, Trump is packing his Cabinet and coveted administration advisory slots with deep-pocketed figures from the finance, tech and crypto worlds. Among them: Cantor Fitzgerald boss and Davos regular Howard Lutnick (Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary); billionaire venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who has been advising Trump during the interregnum at Mar-a-Lago; and crypto backer Paul Atkins as Securities and Exchange Commission boss.
It gives an early taste of the close ties between business and government that look set to define the second Trump presidency.
And it’s a signal: The Davos Man has come in from the cold.
Capitalism’s back in vogue
Here in Davos, the annual mid-winter WEF gathering at the exclusive Alpine resort has long been plagued by accusations of excessive privilege, with criticism intensifying amid growing economic inequality.
The Oxfam Inequality Report — typically released on the opening day of the forum — spotlights the world’s widening wealth disparity. Last year, it revealed that billions of people around the world shouldered the economic shockwaves of inflation and war; while the fortunes of the world’s wealthiest boomed.
But that doesn’t seem to be worrying WEF attendees this year.
They deftly pivoted to backing the Republican in last year’s presidential election — a U-turn that can be traced straight back to Davos, where JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon praised Trump’s positions on the economy, taxes and immigration in January 2024 — and their investment is paying off.
Many will arrive on the Magic Mountain this week much richer than they were a year ago. The S&P 500 soared 23 percent last year, boosted by tech and artificial intelligence stocks. High-profile financiers like Verizon’s Hans Vestberg and Goldman’s David Solomon (both of whom are expected in Davos) were also in the crowd cheering on Trump as he rang the opening bell on Wall Street last month.
And even as Trump threatens to slap massive tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada and Europe, the Davos crowd will be popping the Champagne corks at many of the off-piste dinners scheduled to take place this week over his pledge to cut taxes and slash regulation.
Still, not everyone here is convinced by the stock market frenzy that has accelerated since Trump’s win in November.
Financier Anthony Scaramucci, a Davos regular who spent an ill-fated 10 days as White House communications director during the first Trump presidency, said it would take time to determine whether his old boss can deliver for Wall Street.
“Superficially, Trump is good for business. Trump literally made most of his decisions in his first term through the prism of the stock market,” Scaramucci told POLITICO in an interview. “But if you tell me that he’s going to take Greenland, or deploy forces into Panama, or see if he can annex Canada — this causes instability,” he added.
“It makes people question the judgment of the American government and the American people, and I think that has negative consequences — including on the markets.”
Scaramucci mused: “Is this good for share prices?”
There are others, as well, who caution that the Trump wind blows in unpredictable ways.
“The new administration promises to be a boon for business,” said Daniel Tannebaum of management consultancy Oliver Wyman. But Tannebaum, also in Davos this year, notes that economic fragmentation driven by different government tariff regimes could stunt growth across many sectors.
Crypto bros are back
The world of cryptocurrency also hopes to benefit from the Trump bump.
The Republican has promised to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet,” appointing Silicon Valley venture capitalist David Sacks as his AI and crypto czar.
A host of cryptocurrencies have surged in the wake of Trump’s victory — the widely traded bitcoin flew above $100,000 in December, a new high.
This bullishness will be on display in Davos, long a favored forum for proponents of cryptocurrency, with players like Coinbase, Circle and Filecoin hosting event spaces throughout the week.
The newfound optimism follows trying years for the digital asset industry as it battled reputational fallout from the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX. It also faced an unfavorable U.S. regulatory regime under the Biden administration and the outgoing Securities and Exchange Commission boss Gary Gensler.
Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer Dante Disparte said: “The incoming president obviously made a lot of commitments to the sector. There is now an opportunity to make good on what has been the missing link in the United States — legal and regulatory clarity,” he said.
The Davos Man is back
Source: Viral Showbiz Pinay
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