Trump is heading to the World Economic Forum in Davos — here’s who isn’t

J. P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is one of the political leaders, famous CEOs and technology pioneers. DavosSwitzerland for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

US President Donald Trump is also making his first personal appearance since addressing the forum in 2020 during his first term. His virtual address, just days after re-entering the White House last year, sparked the event. This time, he will bring the “largest ever” US delegation, according to the WEF.

Davos organizers like to cite the numbers attending – “nearly 3,000 cross-sector leaders”, plus a “record” 400 political leaders, 850 business leaders and 100 technology pioneers. But a government in the middle of a geopolitical divide will not be there.

A WEF spokesman said on Monday that representatives of the Danish government had been invited and declined to attend as the dispute over Greenland escalated. Their decision shows just how tense the meeting could be just days after Trump’s new announcement Tariffs to European countries Objected to the attempt to annex the Arctic island. “Any decision to participate is a matter for the government concerned. We can confirm this week that the Danish government will not be attending Davos,” a WEF spokesperson said.

Among those not going are some big names.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is absent Participation list of WEFNeither are the leaders of Brazil and India.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italian leader Giorgia Meloni are not on the WEF list, although both will attend.

WEF President Borge Brende said at a press conference last week that six G7 countries are expected to send representatives in a “historic” move.

In 2025, Davos will be attended by a single G7 leader He was Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany at the time.

President Trump will be joined by French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Downing Street would not confirm whether UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer would attend – he did not attend last year – but he is expected to attend.

a urgent press conference Starmer spoke on Monday morning Trump’s tariff hike statement Targeting several European countries, including the UK, if Greenland is not sold to the US. But when asked if the BBC would consider a one-on-one meeting with Trump “this week”, Starmer did not directly answer the question.

UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves will be a guest on CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe on Wednesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was not named on the WEF list, but is likely to remain in her country, given Monday’s announcement. February 8 special election.

Davos will take place from Monday evening until Friday morning. This year’s theme is “Spirit of Dialogue”, the agenda focuses on five areas: the geopolitical environment, AI, climate and nature, new sources of economic growth and “people and preparedness”.

According to Eric Kutcher, a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, a “strategic partner” of the WEF, it will be interesting to see who goes to Davos. “It’s going to be about who’s there,” he said in a video released by the company. “A lot more than you see in the headlines,” Kutcher said.

Trump’s delegation will include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as well as Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner. The president is scheduled to speak in Davos on Wednesday.

WEF founder Klaus Schwab is one of the big names not attending Davos. After decades of running the event, Schwab stepped down in April following an investigation into alleged misconduct. He was later released.”material offense.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Roche Vice Chairman Andre Hoffman were announced as interim co-chairs of the WEF in August, and the organization’s new hires are “making a real push to reorient the economic direction of the WEF and thus bring in more board directors,” Kutcher said.

Along with Nvidia’s Huang, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis are on DEF’s visitor list. Sarah Friar, OpenAI’s chief financial officer, also intends to attend, but the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, is not.

The main topics of the markets are included The US seeks to occupy Greenland, Political unrest in Venezuela and Trump’s threats to use force against Iran. Investors will also watch for announcements from AI firms, central bank updates and news about companies diversifying from the US.

Jan Aart Scholte, professor of global change and governance at Leiden University in the Netherlands, said that while some high-profile politicians were absent, some of the leaders, such as Argentina’s Javier Maille and Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto, were “not small figures”.

Governments still see Davos as a meeting place for business, he added. “Global capital remains a powerful force in world politics, even if large multinationals are less embraced and celebrated than they were 20 to 30 years ago,” he told CNBC via email on Monday.

While WEF expects around 65 heads of state to attend, as well as important figures such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, other big names are not on the list.

Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi do not speak. But Brende described the Indian delegation as “strong” and noted that heads of state from other Asian countries, including Indonesia and Pakistan, would attend.

Although Chinese President Xi is not expected to attend, Bren will be attended by a “large” Chinese delegation, including Vice Premier for Commerce and Finance He Lifeng, who will address the event on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of his country, is not on the WEF’s visitor list. During the event, several of the country’s ministers, including Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan, are scheduled to give interviews to CNBC.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Monday he would no longer come after two high-speed trains collided in the south of the country on Sunday, killing 39 people.

Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK’s right-wing reform, is expected to attend this year’s event. Farage has previously called Davos “elite”. and visitors said in a 2020 video that they are “the people who will decide our future in Swiss ski resorts”.

of course Some consider Davos elitist and out of touch, said Scholte. “Nationalist-populist groups typically see the WEF as a beacon for the liberal global elites that they resent,” he told CNBC in an email.

– CNBC’s Leonie Kidd contributed to this report.