An exclusive Wall Street power lunch
Between panel discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, some financial chieftans were spotted gathering for a private discussion. According to Lauren LaCapra of Reuters, the private equity boss Stephen A. Schwarzman and the hedge fund manager Paul Singer were there, in addition to a who’s-who of bank C.E.O.’s:
Seen so far at private Wall Street meeting: Jamie Dimon, Brian Moynihan, James Gorman, Michael Corbat, Sergio Ermotti, Brady Dougan.
But one notable chief executive â€" Lloyd C. Blankfein of Goldman Sacs â€" was apparently absent from the lunch.
Lloyd Blankfein too cool for financial CEO meeting, sources say. #davos
Mr. Blankfein was in Davos to promote Goldman’s charitable program 10,000 Women, highlighting it in a blog post with Arianna Huffington Thursday morning.
After a dinner on Wednesday, Mr. Blankfein and Ms. Huffington said in the blog post that “our two organizations are joining forces,†and they outlined a discussion on 10,000 Women scheduled for Thursday.
Mr. Blankfein was sporting an unusual look, according to Lionel ! Barber of The Financial Times:
From the Davos Bubble, a bear market signal. Lloyd Blankfein is back - with a beard!
The Wall Street lunch on Thursday was just one of many closed-door meetings. Barclays hosted a private dinner Wednesday evening where the former president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, was the guest speaker, according to The Times of London. Mr. Sarkozy’s appearance fueled speculation that he might “be on the hunt for a job,†the newspaper says.
Attendees at Davos are organized in a hierarchy, with V.I.P.’s getting the most access to events. You can identify the elites by their badges â€" and also, apparently, by whether they’re ridin in a car.
“There are three kinds of people who get cars in Davos,†explained Rahul Bajaj, the billionaire chairman of Bajaj Auto, in an interview with Bloomberg News. “The first are prime ministers and political leaders. The second are double-As, who can get into the private entrance. The third can drive around, but don’t have access to much. I’m a double-A.â€
This being Davos, the meetings featured an exchange of cutting-edge ideas. To Anthony Scaramucci, managing partner of SkyBridge Capital, one particular concept, “impact investing,†was a source of confusion:
At impact investing breakfast here in Davos up mountain- still clueless about what that is.
