This article was originally published by Don Day in BoiseDev.
Each year, the week after Independence Day, the center of the business and media worlds focuses in on Sun Valley, for the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference.
Approaching its 40th anniversary, the private investment firm has long brought together leaders in media, technology, general business, and politics to listen to speakers, schmooze and enjoy the Wood River Valley.
Media industry publication Variety got a look at the guest list, and as in years past, it is loaded down with big names.
Usually, the Kitzbuhler Strasse in front of the Sun Valley Inn is open for a stroll – but during the annual Allen & Co. event, the area is shrouded by portable bushes and big guys with earpieces. Photo: Don Day/BoiseDev file
This year’s list includes Idaho Gov. Brad Little, the only entrant on the list detailed by Variety whose primary work focuses on Idaho. Other standouts include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who hopes to buy Twitter, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and more. The list of invites doesn’t guarantee any individual will ultimately show up at the conference.
The event is typically secretive and high-security, closing down portions of the Sun Valley Resort to the public. If it follows the pattern of past years, the conference would start on Wednesday, July 6th, and run through the weekend.
As BoiseDev has reported in the past, the conference brings an economic boost to Idaho, as well as national media attention that can pay dividends for tourism.
“I think any time Idaho is mentioned with this category of individual, whether it’s from an economic development perspective or a travel and tourism perspective, it’s obviously good for us,” Idaho Dept. of Commerce Marketing and Innovation Administrator Matt Borudtold BoiseDev in 2019.
Here’s the list as compiled by Variety:
- Yousef Al Otaiba, United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the United States
- Parag Argawal, Twitter CEO
- Sara Blakely, Spanx CEO
- Tony Bloom, professional soccer club owner
- Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO
- Tom Brokaw, former NBC News anchor
- Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway CEO
- Erin Burnett, CNN host
- Stewart Butterfield, Slack CEO
- Bob Chapek, Disney CEO
- Tim Cook, Apple CEO
- Anderson Cooper, CNN host
- Steve Corwin, New York Presbyterian Hospital CEO
- John J. DeGioia, Georgetown University president
- Bill DeWitt, St. Louis Cardinals owner
- Eddie Edwards, professional wrestler
- Daniel Ek, Spotify CEO
- Gianrico Farrugia, Mayo Clinic CEO
- Thomas Friedman, NY Times columnist
- Bill Gates, Microsoft founder & Gates Foundation chair
- Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner
- Brian Grazer, film producer
- Richard Haass, Council on Foreign Relations
- Kevin Hartz, Eventbrite co-founder
- Julia Hartz, Eventbrite co-founder
- Reed Hastings, Netflix co-CEO
- John Henry, Boston Red Sox owner
- Bob Iger, former Disney CEO
- David Ignatius, Washington Post columnist
- Van Jones, CNN commentator
- Jeffrey Katzenberg, Quibi founder
- Phil Knight, Nike founder
- Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizard CEO
- Robert Kraft, New England Patriots owner
- Brad Little, Idaho Governor
- Bryan Lourd, CAA co-chair
- John Malone, Liberty Media chair
- Barry McCarthy, Peleton CEO
- John Miller, New York Police Dept. deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism
- Michael Morrell, former CIA chief
- Anne Moss Rogers, author
- James Murdoch, Lupa India investment company chair
- Lachlan Murdoch, Fox Corp. CEO
- Douglas Murray, conservative commentator
- Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, SpaceX CEO
- Sam Nunn, former Democratic Senator from Georgia
- Mike Ovitz, Hollywood agent
- David Petraeus, former CIA chief
- Sundar Pichai, Alphabet CEO (parent of Google)
- Becky Quick, CNBC host
- Shari Redstone, Paramount Global chair
- Brian Roberts, Comcast chair
- Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook outgoing COO
- Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO
- Diane Sawyer, former ABC News anchor
- Andrew Ross Sorkin, NY Times reporter, CNBC host
- Peter Thiel, Paypal co-founder
- Casey Wasserman, Wasserman CEO
- Meg Whitman, former Quibi CEO
- Susan Wojcicki, YouTube CEO
- David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO
- Feng Zhang, biochemist
- Bob Zimmer, University of Chicago president
- Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO
