(Headline USA) The media company Semafor is planning a Washington economic conference for hundreds of globalist elites in April that it hopes will rival the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, for influence.
World Economy Summit, scheduled for April 23-25 in Washington, D.C., is being co-chaired by two top Democrat donors to the Obama and Biden administrations: Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein and former Obama Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, who most recently was appointed by then-President Joe Biden to oversee economic redevelopment in Ukraine in cooperation with BlackRock and Bank of America.
Jourrnalists from Semafor—a relative newcomer in the mainstream media ecosphere founded by former BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith and Bloomberg Media CEO Justin B. Smith (no known relation)—will moderate a series of discussions on topics like global finance, energy, growth and the tech revolution.
Several Biden Cabinet members and other prominent Democrats are included on the list of speakers, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Semafor said it hoped that Trump administration officials would also attend, adding to the news value, but none had been booked yet.
The announcement by Semafor was met with some circumspection as many believe the annual Davos summit has become a depraved ritual for unaccountable elites to plot social-engineering strategies in support of a new world order.
It also comes as President Donald Trump and his team—including billionaire Elon Musk, the chair of the Department of Government Efficiency—have worked swiftly to shut down shadowy agencies like the United States Agency for International Development that have routinely engaged in bankrolling psy-op and propaganda campaigns, color revolutions and nation-building, with little public knowledge of their activities.
A recent bombshell revealed that Politico and other major media outlets exerting strong influence on Capitol Hill had been receiving millions of dollars in government funding before being abruptly cut off by incoming Trump officials.
Ben Smith was one of Politico‘s early stars, working at the upstart outlet for four years, between 2008 and 2012, before moving to BuzzFeed and, later, the New York Times.
Semafor said Wednesday that more than 200 CEOs have already committed to attend its April event. Although the forum is now in its third year, the surge in attendance suggested an explosion of interest due, in large part, to curiosity about Trump’s policies.
“It is really turning into what will be the closest thing to what Davos has accomplished in Switzerland,” said co-founder Justin B. Smith.
A similar Washington conference two years ago brought together about 50 CEOs, and leadership attendance expanded to about 75 in 2024. While that growth showed interest in monitoring regulatory efforts in Washington, there’s little doubt what has propelled the interest this year.
“Trump’s election has added fuel to the project’s acceleration and growth,” Justin B. Smith said.
With other finance leaders and spectators, Semafor is hoping for about 5,000 people to attend its conference. Leaders of Netflix, FedEx, Instacart, Mattel, United Airlines, Whole Foods and WeWork are among the confirmed attendees, the company said.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
