If the Billionaire Boys Club was real

Since 1987, The World Economic Forum, more commonly known as Davos, has been meeting in the small mountain town of Davos, Switzerland to discuss various political, economic, or business issues and so on. Each year there is a theme that the thousands of various well-known elitists will discuss, this year's theme being responsive and responsible leadership. With talk of such serious issues, and so many top-tier people attending, Davos strives to put off a seemingly respectable aura. Yet rather than political or economic expertise, the only thing each member seems to have in common is a high social status and a surplus of money. 

As described by Simon Constable, a writer for Forbes, rather than "the intellectual pursuit of economic ideas," The World Economic Forum "was a vision of social climbing on steroids." The name 'World Economic Forum' seems to be a name that thousands of elitists simply hide behind as they enjoy various parties veiled in exclusivity. Members give the impression that the different lectures and panel discussions are just a side show, as they rush to an expensive hotel to make an exclusive meeting with a businessman. Liz Alderman for the New York Times explains "Many deal makers retreat to hotel suites for much of the conference, forsaking the official program in favor of a whirl of meetings, emerging only to attend private parties in exclusive chalets on the Davos slopes or invitation-only power dinners." Another article by the New York Times tells of the various colored badges each member receives. The badges essentially display how important each person is. The higher the badge level the less restrictions one has. Another reason for people to, as described by Constable, try to climb the social ladder of success. 

All of this is not to say that Davos is a useless meeting made for big names to grow even more, however. Though it may seem few and far between, important issues are addressed during this meeting, and as there may not be immediate effects, there is no doubt that some advancements are being put forward.  Various topics of discussion included strengthening global collaboration, restoring economic growth, and reforming capitalism. Bloomberg does an excellent job of summarizing the key issues discussed. 

If thousands of top-class politicians and businessmen want to gather to make various business or economic plans, I think that is completely fine. But the problem that Davos holds is that it tries to hold a status of a meeting that will automatically reap benefits for the world, just because its members are at the top of society. As Simon Constable said, "Of course, there were some wonderful folks present, but mostly it was a disgusting spectacle of the shallow seeking to shimmy their way into prestige positions."