BILDERBERG'S BIGWIG BASH: These are people whose billions depend upon having the informational edge over their competitors

 

At Bilderberg’s bigwig bash two things are guaranteed: Kissinger and secrecy

The annual elite networking, diplomatic and lobbying event took place in splendid seclusion behind closed doors in Lisbon

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, left, a participant in the 69th Bilderberg conference in Lisbon, shakes hands with his Portuguese counterpart, João Gomes Cravinho. Photograph: Carlos Costa/AFP/Getty Images

". . .When the Spanish foreign minister is mulling over Ukraine with the head of Nato, he’s doing so within earshot of some of the world’s most rapacious investors, like Henry Kravis, or hedge fund boss Kenneth Griffin, the 21st richest man in America. . .

These are people whose billions depend upon having the informational edge over their competitors, and it’s hard to know what the Griffins and Van Rappards are even doing there, except to pick up geostrategic tidbits to help make a quick buck.

Yet that doesn’t seem to raise any ethical red flags with any of the politicians who trot along to the talks. They’re quite happy to talk turkey behind the bougainvilleas with a bunch of billionaires and profiteers.

But heaven forbid there’s a press conference at the end of it.

. . .This kind of cold war cloak-and-daggerism seems oddly anachronistic for a conference that is hosting a cutting-edge conversation about artificial intelligence with the CEOs of DeepMind and Microsoft. That said, all the ducking and weaving seems to work, if the endgame is inattention by the press."