OMG - No, You Don't Want to Be Seen at Davos Summer

 The excitement just isn't there. That's what Bloomberg quotes Wendy Craft, chief of staff at Fulcrum Equities, as saying about Davos Summer. (What could be interesting, though, are that shamans are there hawking their services. Yeah, attendees can book a premium tarot reading,)

Actually, Davos Man and Davos Woman haven't been relevant for almost a decade. After all, with the emerging ESG ethos extreme wealth has come under attack. Both individual and institutional. 

Then when the once-iconic journey to the winter Switzerland retreat went remote for two years the Davos Man/Woman brand faded. The new book flaming Davos Everything - "Davos Man" - ranks high on Amazon: #29,413. By journalist Peter S. Goodman, it showcases Davos' sponsor, that is, the World Economic Forum, as a platform for billionaires to present themselves as passionate about creating a good future for the rest of us. You bet, the distance from their perch and where we hang out is made palpable. Incidentally, more authenic at all that and perhaps accomplishing much more could be the Milken Institute Global Conference. This year it took place May 1 through 4.

Along with Davos, what has become a lot less buzzy is the billionaire. That happened quite abruptly, didn't it. There is a shift in the narrative from how these wonderkinds made their billions to how they haven't been too smart about hanging on to those big bucks. Here is it from Bloomberg, May 21, 2022.

"The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily measure of the wealth of the world’s 500 richest people, has dropped $1.6 trillion since its peak in November. Leading the way are the Americans on the index, who have lost $797 billion since their peak. Perhaps the most humbled by it all is the world’s richest person, Elon Musk. He’s lost $139.1 billion, or 41% of his wealth, since November, when his net worth briefly surpassed $340 billion. Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, the second-richest person, lost $82.7 billion, or 39% of his peak wealth." 

Maybe The American Wealth Dream is mutating into the ability to create financial comfort in ways that don't have to brand you as anything. You can just make your money and not be forced into any category like "billionaire" or "millionaire." And you don't have to prance around like Bill Gates (who is at Davos summer) pontificating about broad-based topics ranging from pandemics to the world economy. You can just be. 

Reflection: Is could be a professional liability to be at Davos Summer. 

Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com.

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