Movers and shakers from 22 nations converged on a luxury hotel on Thursday in western Austria for the latest in a secretive Bilderberg conference series that has run for six decades.
Officially it aims to “foster dialogue” between Europe and North America. Over its 60-year history, it has, however, also long been an inspiration to conspiracy theorists convinced that the world’s elite meet there to determine the fate of the globe.
This year’s published guest list includes NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, Deutsche Bank supervisory board chairman Paul Achleitner, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, the Netherland’s Princess Beatrix and Goldman Sachs chairman Robert Zoellick.
Topics listed by organizers include chemical weapons, the Middle East, Russia, cyber security and artificial intelligence. There is no specific mention of climate change or December’s UN Paris conference. World hunger and the massive gaps between the world’s poor and rich also didn’t make the list of current issues.
‘No detailed agenda’
Participants attend as private individuals. The conference website states “There is no detailed agenda, no resolutions are proposed, no votes are taken and no policy statements are issued.”
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!