Inequality and unease are rising as elite Davos event opens with
pro-business Trump set to attend
[January 19, 2026] By
JAMEY KEATEN
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Corporate chiefs and government leaders
including U.S. President Donald Trump swarm into Davos, Switzerland,
this week, joining an elite annual meeting that promotes dialogue and
economic progress — even as a domineering tone from Washington has
upended the global order and billionaires have reaped trillions in new
wealth as the poor lag behind.
The World Economic Forum, the think tank whose four-day annual meeting
opens Tuesday, has a stated motto of “improving the state of the world,"
and this year's theme is “A spirit of dialogue.” One question is whether
Trump will speak with attendees — or at them.
Nearly 3,000 attendees from the interlinked worlds of business, advocacy
and policy will tackle issues including the growing gap between rich and
poor; AI's impact on jobs; concerns about geo-economic conflict; tariffs
that have rocked longstanding trade relationships; and an erosion of
trust between communities and countries.
“It’s really going to be a discussion at a very important moment ...
geopolitics is changing," said Mirek Dušek, a forum managing director in
charge of programming. "Some people think we’re in a transition. Some
people think we’ve already entered a new era. But I think it’s
undeniable that you are seeing a more competitive, more contested
landscape.”
Trump set to loom large
Trump’s third visit to Davos as president comes as U.S. allies worry
about his ambition to take over Greenland, Latin America is grappling
with his efforts to reap Venezuela’s oil, and his hardball tactics
toward Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have stirred concern among
business leaders and lawmakers alike.
Trump’s peace-making credentials also will be on the table: An
announcement looms about his “ Board of Peace ” for Gaza, and he and his
administration are expected to have bilateral meetings in the warren of
side rooms at the Congress Center.
The U.S. leader seems to revel in strolling through the Davos Congress
Center and among executives who back his business-minded, money-making
approach to politics.
Critics will also be nearby: He’s blown hot and cold recently with
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, an invitee; Foreign Minister Abbas
Araghchi of Iran, whose leaders face U.S. sanctions over their handling
of recent protests, will be on hand.
The two likeliest counterweights to Trump’s administration on the
international scene — China and the European Union — get top billing on
the first day of the event: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
will speak Tuesday morning, right before Vice Premier He Lifeng, China’s
“economic czar” — as Dušek put it.
Founder Schwab sits out, as Nvidia chief makes a debut
The forum will be without its founder, Klaus Schwab, who hosted the
first event in Davos 55 years ago focusing on business, only to see it
since balloon into a catchall extravaganza. He stepped down in April.
New co-chairs Larry Fink, the head of investment firm BlackRock, and
Andre Hoffman, vice chair of pharmaceuticals firm Roche, are in charge.
This year will also mark the debut appearance of Nvidia CEO Jensen
Huang, arguably the world’s most important tech leader today, among some
850 CEOs and chairs of global companies – along with some celebrities
like Hollywood actor and safe-water advocate Matt Damon.
The future of AI, its impact on business and work, and the prospects for
artificial general intelligence will be key themes.
The presidents of Argentina, France, Indonesia, Syria and Ukraine will
be among the dozens of national leaders on hand.
[to top of second column] |
The logo of the World Economy Forum is displayed on a window of the
Congress Center where the Annual Meeting Forum take place in Davos,
Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
 As rich-poor divide widens, trust
in institutions falters
Leading public-relations firm Edelman reports in its annual trust
barometer – launched a quarter-century ago and this year surveying
nearly 34,000 people in 28 countries – that trade and recession
fears have climbed to an all-time high, optimism is falling
especially in developed countries, and “grievance” last year has
morphed into broader “insularity.”
“People are retreating from dialogue and compromise, choosing the
safety of the familiar over the perceived risk of change,” said CEO
Richard Edelman. “We favor nationalism over global connection and
individual gain over joint progress. Our mentality has shifted from
‘we’ to ‘me’.”
The survey found that about two-thirds of respondents said their
trust was concentrated toward CEOs of the companies that they work
for, fellow citizens or neighbors, while nearly 70% believed
institutional leaders — such as from business or government —
deliberately mislead the public.
Oxfam, the world-renowned advocacy group, issued a report ahead of
the Davos event which showed that billionaire wealth rose by more
than 16% last year, three times faster than the past five-year
average, to more than $18 trillion. It drew on Forbes magazine data
on the world’s richest people.
Oxfam said the $2.5 trillion rise in the wealth of billionaires last
year would be enough to eradicate extreme poverty 26 times over.
Their wealth has risen by more than four-fifths since 2020, while
nearly half the world’s population lives in poverty, the group said.
The Trump administration has led a “pro-billionaire agenda,” the
group said, through actions such as slashing taxes for the
wealthiest, fostering the growth of AI-related stocks that help rich
investors get richer, and thwarting efforts to tax giant companies.
The advocacy group wants more national efforts to reduce inequality,
higher taxes on the ultra-rich to reduce their power, and greater
limits on their ability to shape policy through lobbying.
With such concerns filtering through to policymakers, Trump, who is
leading the biggest-ever U.S. delegation and will have about a
half-dozen Cabinet secretaries in tow, is expected to discuss
housing and affordability in his Davos speech on Wednesday.
Critics of WEF, and Trump, take to the streets
As usual, protesters rallied over the weekend in and near Davos
ahead of the event. Hundreds of marchers scaled an Alpine road up to
the town on Saturday behind a banner in German that read “No Profit
from War” and alongside a truck that bore a sign: World Economic
Failure.
Companies like Microsoft, India's Tata Consultancy, social media
titan TikTok and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike have joined
governments from countries like Nigeria, Qatar, Ukraine and the
United States — a USA House is making a debut this year — to set up
shop on the Davos Promenade to promote their services, products and
national economies.
Davos storekeepers rent out their premises so that forum
participants can have the prime real estate for the week.
Critics have long accused the annual meeting in Davos of generating
more rhetoric than results, and they see Trump's return as sign of
the disconnect between haves and have-nots. Some say Swiss leaders
who support the event and flock to Davos too are adding to the
problem.
“It is worrying how Swiss politicians are courting warmongers and
their profiteers in Davos,” said Mirjam Hostetmann, president of
Switzerland's Young Socialists, who have led protests against the
event. “The WEF will never bring peace, but will only fuel
escalation.”
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
