Diary of a first-time visitor to Davos – getting used to life among the 0.01pc
“Barron’s?” asks a young woman. “FT?” asks another.
n Monday afternoon I just arrived at Davos train station. Within 30 seconds Davos’ version of The big topic is pushed onto me.
I had been warned. On the (spectacular) two-hour train ride from Zurich, I sat in a carriage where two men debated what SBF had done wrong.
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The FT and Barron’s are pushed on the streets of Davos. Photo: Adrian Weckler
And now a traffic jam crawls ahead of me with hundreds of Mercs, BMWs, Audis, and Porsches (there are few Teslas; sorry, Elon).
Welcome to the land of 0.01pc, Weckler.
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A line of luxury cars waiting to emerge from the hall of the main WEF forum. Photo: Adrian Weckler
I know right away that I’m slightly underdressed. I had assumed that clothing styles had softened because tech companies now rule the world. But walking a few hours through the snowy city tells me that Davos 2023 is really about banks. They are everywhere, sponsoring the tallest buildings in the most prominent places. And when bankers dress casually, they wear a wool coat, a boss shirt and classy chinos.
My jeans, cardigan, and ski jacket would be great if the conference was in Vail. Here, I’m an oik.
Back to the banks. Aside from the Forum Hall itself, the Hotel Belvedere seems to be the best address in town. His landlord this week appears to be a mix of Standard Chartered, Bank of America with IBM as a lodger. A few doors down, Citi is loud and proud, alongside the news houses of Reuters and CNBC.
There are parts of the city that most people cannot traverse without the proper badge. Polite Swiss police officers with inconspicuous machine guns are a reminder of this. The most coveted badges here tend to be white. They mean you are a very high ranking politician, head of state, aide or other ultra VIP. I don’t have anything close to either of those. And boasting is absolutely taboo with these guys; The Irish accent doesn’t mean anything here, especially if you’re wearing jeans and a ski jacket.
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Cordoned off areas of Davos. Photo: Adrian Weckler
The Forum Hall itself, a large modern glass structure resembling something between a train station and a massive theater, isn’t quite as closed off or austere as I expected. For example, I saw stronger security measures at the Web Summit in Lisbon. The biggest threat so far seems to be one of the hundreds of (mostly) Mercedes sedans and vans hitting someone on the street. But since temperatures are higher than normal — a perfect allegory for the climate issues discussed here — it’s actually not that slippery.
Along with increased security, I expected to see a little more protesters or dissenters. Apart from a random lodge off the main road adorned with some anti-corruption banners I haven’t seen much of it so far.
Few hotels or restaurants not being taken over by major corporations for this week, I end up at the Migros supermarket for a buffet lunch at its huge canteen-like cafe. Next to me, a political reporter is interviewing a Ukrainian delegate about how the war is going and what Zelenskyy is likely to say when he speaks at the conference later this week.
Behind me, an older American tries to approach two young South Korean women and tell them that he used to be a senior CNN journalist. They laugh at his anecdotes but decline when he offers to get back in touch.
A tired cameraman sets his huge Sony video camera and tripod on the table in front of me next to one manned by the drivers of a couple of Mercedes limousines.
After an hour, part of the Irish contingent arrives, including CleverCards’ Kealan Lennon. He is excited. He’s got some big steps ahead of him and hopes to get ahead of some of the big hitters in the fintech world here.
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Google’s base in Davos. Photo: Adrian Weckler
Leo Varadkar makes an appearance but has generally kept a low profile; His press office doesn’t answer emails or calls about what he’s doing or who he’s meeting. It’s possible that, like Rishi Sunak, Manu Macron and others, he doesn’t want too much attention for hanging out with billionaires.
Or maybe he just knew I was going to show up like the Dublin Northsider I am in jeans and a ski jacket.
https://www.independent.ie/business/technology/diary-of-a-davos-first-timer-adjusting-to-life-among-the-001pc-42290637.html Diary of a first-time visitor to Davos – getting used to life among the 0.01pc