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DAVOS, Switzerland — <\/span>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 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n The World Economic Forum, the think tank whose four-day annual meeting opens Tuesday, has a stated motto of \u201cimproving the state of the world,” and this year’s theme is \u201cA spirit of dialogue.\u201d One question is whether Trump will speak with attendees \u2014 or at them.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really going to be a discussion at a very important moment … geopolitics is changing,” said Mirek Du\u0161ek, a forum managing director in charge of programming. “Some people think we\u2019re in a transition. Some people think we\u2019ve already entered a new era. But I think it\u2019s undeniable that you are seeing a more competitive, more contested landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s third visit to Davos as president comes as U.S. allies worry about his ambition to take over Greenland<\/a>, Latin America is grappling with his efforts to reap Venezuela\u2019s oil<\/a>, and his hardball tactics toward Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell<\/a> have stirred concern among business leaders and lawmakers alike.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s peace-making credentials also will be on the table: An announcement looms about his \u201c Board of Peace<\/a> \u201d for Gaza, and he and his administration are expected to have bilateral meetings in the warren of side rooms at the Congress Center.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Critics will also be nearby: He\u2019s blown hot and cold recently<\/a> with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, an invitee; Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran, whose leaders face U.S. sanctions<\/a> over their handling of recent protests, will be on hand.<\/p>\n The two likeliest counterweights to Trump\u2019s administration on the international scene \u2014 China and the European Union \u2014 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\u2019s \u201ceconomic czar\u201d \u2014 as Du\u0161ek put it. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n This year will also mark the debut appearance of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, arguably the world\u2019s most important tech leader today, among some 850 CEOs and chairs of global companies \u2013 along with some celebrities like Hollywood actor and safe-water advocate Matt Damon. <\/p>\n The future of AI, its impact on business and work, and the prospects for artificial general intelligence<\/a> will be key themes. <\/p>\n The presidents of Argentina, France, Indonesia, Syria and Ukraine will be among the dozens of national leaders on hand.<\/p>\n Leading public-relations firm Edelman reports in its annual trust barometer \u2013 launched a quarter-century ago and this year surveying nearly 34,000 people in 28 countries \u2013 that trade and recession fears have climbed to an all-time high, optimism is falling especially in developed countries, and \u201cgrievance\u201d last year has morphed into broader \u201cinsularity.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are retreating from dialogue and compromise, choosing the safety of the familiar over the perceived risk of change,\u201d said CEO Richard Edelman. \u201cWe favor nationalism over global connection and individual gain over joint progress. Our mentality has shifted from \u2018we\u2019 to \u2018me\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 such as from business or government \u2014 deliberately mislead the public.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s richest people.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s population lives in poverty, the group said.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has led a \u201cpro-billionaire agenda,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> in his Davos speech on Wednesday. <\/p>\n 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 \u201cNo Profit from War\u201d and alongside a truck that bore a sign: World Economic Failure. <\/p>\n 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 \u2014 a USA House is making a debut this year \u2014 to set up shop on the Davos Promenade to promote their services, products and national economies. <\/p>\n Davos storekeepers rent out their premises so that forum participants can have the prime real estate for the week.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n \u201cIt is worrying how Swiss politicians are courting warmongers and their profiteers in Davos,\u201d said Mirjam Hostetmann, president of Switzerland’s Young Socialists, who have led protests against the event. \u201cThe WEF will never bring peace, but will only fuel escalation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n