Hidden away in the Colorado Rockies, a Sicilian resort, or a Utah ski lodge are some of the most exclusive events a billionaire can hope to attend.
Attendee lists are so all-star that even the Goldman Sacks chief executive is a ‘third-tier guest’ and if you have to ask, you’re not invited.
Between discussions topics like ‘can you marry a robot?’ quizzes on tech trends and performances by celebrities, deals are made and executives are hired.
More and more of these elite getaways are popping up as guests crave time away from the spotlight with few cameras and everything is off the record.
There are so many that even those rich and popular enough to be on everyone’s list can’t possibly go to them all and they hire advisers to tell them which to attend.
Lily Singh and Charlize Theron among ruins in Sicily at Google Camp in 2016
Discussion topics including ‘can you marry a robot?’ at WPP Stream, an ‘unconference’ in Santa Barbara with very little structure
A dinner at the Brilliant Minds conference in Stockholm
Rosalia performing among ruins in Sicily at the 2019 Google Camp
The Sicilian resort where Google Camp is held boasts two 18-hole golf courses, a tennis academy and one of the largest spa complexes in Europe on its one mile of private coastline
These events ‘make Davos look like a Las Vegas trade expo’ as the famous billionaire meetup has ballooned to more than 800 in recent years.
‘My reason for declining the Davos invitation was not because I thought they were engaged in diabolical scheming, but because it sounded boring af lol,’ Elon Musk said in 2022 (though it turned out he wasn’t invited).
But Musk is more than happy to show up to the king of the newer, smaller event circuit – The Weekend, held in September in Aspen, Colorado.
The Tesla boss participated in the event’s most popular panel, a chat with the author of his biography, Walter Isaacson, moderated by CBS anchor Gayle King.
He also rubbed shoulders with the likes of Ron Howard and Karlie Kloss, while others went biking with General David Petraeus or got golf lessons from Michael Block.
The Weekend was co-hosted by Ari Emanuel, chief executive of the Endeavor media group, and is one of the more secretive.
The guest list is the key Sportscorp founder Marc Ganis explained to the Wall Street Journal, as it determines how exclusive the conference is.
‘This is where the ideas for business can be developed. What makes one better than the other is who actually attends,’ he said.
A sunrise dip at WPP Stream, an event that includes ‘two days of off-record debate alongside dancing robots; slam poetry; drone races; and a space launch’
Gwyneth Paltrow with other guests at Brilliant Minds in Stockholm in 2019
Former president Barack Obama shakes hands and shares laughs at Brilliant Minds in 2019
Sport media personality Kay Adams posts her view of the Deer Valley resort in Park City, Utah, for MediaSlopes last year
St Regis Resort in Aspen, Colorado, where The Weekend is held every September
Besides the deal-making business leaders, they are dotted with celebrities who both lure in guests and provide entertainment.
MediaSlopes (or just Slopes to those who make the cut), held at Deer Valley resort in Park City, Utah, in dead of winter ski season, even got Margot Robbie during the peak of Barbie-mania last year.
Edward Norton, Paris Hilton, Al Gore, and Maria Sharapova were all spotted there in recent years mingling with the rich and richer.
The billionaires have their own tricks to teach too, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick teaches high-impact fitness classes, and Univision head Wade Davis once won the annual slalom race.
Jared Leto at the Brilliant Minds conference in Stockholm in 2022
Deer Valley resort in Park City, Utah, where MediaSlopes is held
Paris Hilton at WPP Stream on a visit to the Napa Valley
Richard Branson poses with Aryeh Bourkoff at MediaSlopes in 2019
Tennis legend Maria Sharapova was a celebrity guest at MediaSlopes in 2020
Sara Wimmercranz and Linnéa Claeson at Brilliant Minds in 2018
Former president Barack Obama is active on the circuit, too, having spoken at The Weekend and newer calendar item Brilliant Minds.
Created by Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek and entrepreneur Ash Pournouri in 2015, the event takes guests on outings around Stockholm, including a cruise.
Alexander Skarsgård said he partly based his Swedish tech magnate character in Succession on Ek, and in one episode the main characters are brought to Stockholm to seal a deal.
Along with Obama, celebrities to make the trip have included NBA star Draymond Green, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessie Williams, Usher, Naomi Campbell, Jared Leto, Sean Penn, Trevor Noah, and Florence and the Machine.
This event is considered the most fun on the circuit by the high-end guests as they sail around islands to beautiful locations.
Created by Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek and entrepreneur Ash Pournouri in 2015, the event takes guests on outings around Stockholm, including a cruise
Edward Norton (right) was a guest at MediaSlopes in 2020
Jessie Williams and Usher pose with other guests at Brilliant Minds in 2018
Naomi Campbell (right) poses with Wassim SAL Slaiby and his wife Rima Fakih at Brilliant Minds in 2018
Aryeh Bourkoff and Kevin Liles relax outside their rooms at the Deer Valley resort for MediaSlopes in 2022
A view of Deer Valley resort during MediaSlopes in 2019
Former Daily Show host Trevor Noah is interviewed
One of the more straightforward, practical events is Google Camp – the tech behemoth’s annual event for clients and partners.
Held at the stunning Verdura Resort in Sicily, billionaires fly in from around the world in private jets and soak up the sun.
Celebrities like Prince Harry, Harry Styles, Naomi Campbell, Orlando Bloom, Katy Perry, Bradley Cooper, and Charlize Theron have joined them in past years.
About 300 guests attend the secretive camp where they mingle on $400 million mega-yachts and cruise around Sicily in $200,000 cars.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin performed in ancient ruins in 2019, which cost $100,000 to rent even before the show was put on.
Perry and Bloom that year were picked up by David Geffen’s $400,000 super-yacht before it continued on its way up the Italian coast.
Some of these A-List stars were spotted in Monaco after attending the Google Camp. From left to right in the back: Sacha Baron Cohen, Noel Gallagher, Woody Harrelson, Lars Ulrich, Bono, Matthew McConaughey, Bill Gates. Front, from left: Guy Oseary and French photographer JR. Bono’s representatives have confirmed he was not in attendance.
Katy Perry poses with businessman David Geffin in Spain. Both were at the Google event
David Geffen’s yacht the Rising Sun dropped off Katy Perry (right) and Orlando Bloom (second left) on Monday, but then continued on its way up the Italian coast
In another one of his Instagram shots, a shirtless Bloom posed atop a cliff above a stunning blue lagoon with the ship in the background
Google picked up the tab for everyone’s flights, accommodation and entertainment during the three-day ‘Google Camp’, at a cost of $20 million.
Stella McCartney, Diane Von Furstenberg and Gayle King were also spotted arriving at the Verdura Resort in Sicily for the welcome dinner.
The event, created by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, sees some of the world’s wealthiest business leaders and tech gurus discussing various issues in morning sessions before relaxing in the Italian sunshine in the afternoon.
The camp is so secretive that social media is banned and the itinerary locked behind a password-protected site.
The other end of the structure scale is Stream, which has none at all and is even called an ‘unconference’ by organizers WPP.
‘We had one famous music executive who turned up and couldn’t deal with the lack of structure and left,’ chef executive Mark Read told WSJ.
A performance at the Temple of Hera at the Paestum Archaeological UNESCO World Heritage site where a host of celebrities gathered for the Google Camp climate change conference. Coldplay’s Chris Martin was said to be the headline act
Vehicles parked at the Google Camp event where tech giants and celebrities flocked to Sicily for the VIP climate change conference
Celebrities including Katy Perry, pictured, are attending the three-day conference in Sicily. She was dropped off on the megayacht Rising Sun, with other wealthy attendees bringing their private jets
The $20million climate change party: This diagram shows the huge cost – financial and environmental – of Google’s extravagant summer bash where A-list celebrities gathered to discuss saving the planet
Musk has also attended Stream along with Paris Hilton and 300 other guests, last year held in Santa Barbara.
Steam’s website describes it as ‘two days of off-record debate alongside dancing robots; slam poetry; drone races; and a space launch’.
Even more exclusive are intimate dinners and other events put on by wealthy executives that are as small as 25 people.
Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff hosts several of these around the world, and always with a celebrity chef.
‘We actually end up with a regular set of celebrities and entertainment who are our favorites, and there’s just people we feel very connected to. There’s the right level of quality,’ he said.
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