Copy linkEmailFacebookWhatsAppXLinkedInBlueskyThreadsImpact Link
SaveSaved
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider
subscribers. Become an Insider
and start reading now.Have an account? .
Business Insider
The world's most prestigious and important conference kicked off in Davos, Switzerland yesterday.
2013-01-23
At this conference, world leaders gather to discuss topics that are considered to be of vital importance to the world.
For the past two years, the most popular article I have written about the Davos conference (by one measure) is the "unboxing" of the Davos swag bag.
This is not because the Davos swag bag is a particularly awesome swag bag.
It is because, it seems impossible not to conclude, the most interesting thing about the Davos conference from the perspective of those who are not at the Davos conference is the Davos swag bag.
With this in mind, we once again bring you...
The Davos conference is the most prestigious and important conference in the world. So one might expect that the Davos swag bag would be similarly superlative.
Upon opening the Davos swag bag, however, one quickly encounters lots of paper. That doesn't look promising. Maybe some goodies are hiding at the bottom. Let's dump it and see.
By the way, when I say "big" and "fat," I mean it. Also by the way... I've been coming to Davos for three years now. I still don't know the difference between "Members" and "Constituents."
Next, the "Programme." It's a much larger and heavier version than the electronic program that is an app on my phone and is available on Davos check-in terminals that are everywhere you look.
An invitation to the "Welcome Evening" ceremony, which took place last night. I didn't open my swag bag in time to realize I had received an invitation. But I went anyway!
That's it. That's the swag bag for the most important and prestigious conference in the world. It's a serious and well-meaning swag bag, clearly--no crass commercialism here. It's a PRAGMATIC swag bag. But, man, is it a boring swag bag. As a token of my apologies on behalf of the World Economic Forum for it being so boring, I bring you this exclusive picture of... Charlize Theron.
You're currently following this author!
Click to unsubscribe from email alerts.
Henry Blodget cofounded Business Insider, then called "Silicon Alley Insider," in the loading dock of another New York-based startup in 2007. He served as Editor in Chief until 2017 and CEO until 2023. Business Insider is now owned by Axel Springer.A former top-ranked Wall Street analyst, Henry is often a guest on CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and other networks. He has contributed to The Atlantic, Slate, The New York Times, Fortune, New York, the Financial Times, and other publications (including, of course, Business Insider!). He has written extensively about technology and investing and is the author of "The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual: A Consumer's Guide to Investing."
