Lifestyles of the Really Rich and Famous

LONDON, Jan. 26, 2007 — -- Can 2,500 of the world's decision makers get their creative juices flowing without Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at their sides?

They will have to try. Because unlike last year, when Hollywood A-listers joined world academics, activists and leaders of industry and finance in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum, this year's gathering -- which opened yesterday -- lacks Tinsletown glitz. Though attendees like Bill Gates, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Google CEO Eric Schmidt aren't exactly no-names.

And that, say some organizers, is a good thing.

After all, since you're trying to tackle global economic, health and environmental issues, maybe you don't need distractions like actress Sharon Stone, who, at 2005's session, stood up and declared she was donating $10,000 to buy mosquito nets for impoverished Africans.

"Would anyone else like to be on a team with me and stand up and offer some money?" she asked. Within five minutes, the largely male audience had pledged a million dollars. Reportedly, only a quarter of those pledges have been delivered.

This year's conference "has become less dominated by big stars," Christian Mumenthaler, chief risk officer of Swiss Reinsurance and a Davos attendee, told ABC News, "which has created more calmness and a time for discussion."

But what sorts of discussions take place at Davos?

"Big conferences like this are almost always more about networking than finding immediate answers," said Ethan Harris, U.S. chief economist for Lehman Brothers. "Networking is important."

And sometimes, that schmoozing leads to solving -- or at least delaying -- a world crisis here or there. In 1988, Greece and Turkey pulled back from the brink of war by signing the Davos Declaration. In 1994, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat reached a draft agreement at Davos.

"It's a chance to come together and overcome prejudice," said Mumenthaler. "There has just been a panel session on the Middle East with ex-Iranian President Khatami and David Rosen from Israel."

That's no small matter, considering Iran's presumed nuclear ambitions.

"Some people would say Davos lost its charm because it's gotten bigger; it's not 500 people anymore," said Mumenthaler. "But that's an advantage. If 2,500 people can hear Iran's Khatami speak, then that creates more bridges and more people can go away with new ideas."

But Davos has its critics.

"We don't think it is balanced," said Andreas Missback, of the Swiss-based anti-World Economic Forum group, Public Eye on Davos. "If you look at the participants, there is a very meager number of representatives of companies from the developing world."

Davos organizers, however, told ABC News that they have gone to great lengths to be more inclusive of issues and people from developing nations.

One thing remains undisputed. It's a big ticket. Any business organization that wants to attend Davos must have an annual turnover of $2 billion, and it must also be committed to the forum's global initiatives on education, health and disaster relief.

For fee-paying guests, annual admission costs $50,000 a head, though about half of the delegates do come for free. For religious, charity, environmental and labor leaders, the conference is a rare and important chance to bend the ear of governments and corporations.

World-Shaking Issues

Most of this year's session titles are profound: "Climate Change," "Global Economy," "The Rise and Fall of Empires," "AIDS," "Energy," "Nuclear Weapons," "Enough Is Enough: Israel and the Palestinian Territories," "Fate of the Universe and Search for Life" and "Reverse Engineering the Brain," among others.

Heavy stuff. But other sessions suggest a glimpse of eccentricity in the works this year.

"Relationships and Self-Esteem." This program will "explore how: (1) Our self-image relates to our self-esteem, (2) Greater comfort with sexuality and sensuality improve self-esteem." Hmm.

"Depression: Are CEOs disproportionately affected?" It's tough at the top.

"Why Do Brains Sleep?" includes these questions: Do leaders sleep less? What does that tell us about the quality of their decision making? How are sleep and dreams related to our ability to handle complexity?

And to keep the attendees from falling asleep, they'll have the opportunity to play chess with Russian champion Anatoli Karpov (and perhaps to keep Karpov from dozing off, he will play 20 guests at a time).

And so it goes. The people who directly or indirectly control the price of our homes, cars and food, as well the state of our climate, media and security, are playing chess and talking about why they dream when sleeping. And yes, they are also talking about those many aforementioned issues that shape our lives.

"I expect two takeaways," Ethan Harris of Lehman Brothers said in an e-mail. "One positive, the other negative. The good news: a growing consensus that climate change is a serious issue. The bad news: trade negotiations are stuck in the mud and are unlikely to be unstuck."

There are always ideas in the air at Davos.

Additional reporting by Laura Westmacott, Fabiola Antezana, Benjamin Barnier and Maeva Bambuck of ABC News.