Bussiness
Oprah dazzles as she joins billionaires at Sun Valley summit
By Ishita Srivastava For Dailymail.Com
01:02 11 Jul 2024, updated 01:13 11 Jul 2024
Oprah Winfrey dazzled in an all-white ensemble as media and tech giants stepped out to attend a conference dubbed the ‘summer camp for billionaires’ in Idaho.
The annual Allen & Co gathering sees industry titans come together from around the world.
The American talk show host was photographed waving her name tag as she left the Sun Valley Resort with Van Jones, close friend Gayle King and Erin Burnett.
She was seen sporting a white sweater, casual jeans, a pair of white sneakers and a crossbody bag with minimal jewelry.
The summit’s agenda and lecture topics are kept top secret to allow the one-percenters some privacy as they wander around the resort, gossiping about industry and, at times, sealing multibillion-dollar deals.
This year’s star-studded guest list includes New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Disney boss Bob Iger, OpenAI leader Sam Altman, Gayle King and many more.
Private jets typically fly in at Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey, around 15 miles from the ritzy resort, and then guest driven to the estate with picturesque mountain views.
Jeff Bezos and his glamourous fiancée Lauren Sanchez looked fashionable as they arrived in Idaho.
Sanchez sported a new hairdo – a sleek bob – and stunned in a knitted skirt and sweater with a pink handbag and big shades.
Tim Cook was pictured flashing his beloved peace sign wearing a blue polo, white pants and of course an Apple watch.
Chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group Barry Diller arrived with his renowned fashion designer wife Diane von Furstenberg.
Shari Ellin Redstone, President of National Amusements, gave a thumbs up to the cameras as she arrived in red, just days after the Paramount and Skydance merger was announced.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav told Bloomberg the Paramount merger is ‘good for the industry,’ as he entered the resort wearing a tan corduroy jacket, blue jeans, a white shirt and bandana and brown shades.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was escorted around the resort in a golf cart following his tumultuous year with the company that saw him briefly ousted.
He has been accused of creating a ‘toxic culture of lying’ and using ‘psychological abuse’ at OpenAI, and Scarlett Johansson accused him of appropriating her voice for ChatGPT.
Disney CEO Bob Iger flashed a confident smile as he arrived in Sun Valley after fending off an attempted take over from billionaire Nelson Peltz in May.
CBS News host Gayle King showed off her slim figure it a green dress as she saluted the cameras before heading into the resort.
Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, is attending the conference after going to war with the United Auto Workers union over contract negotiations that lead to a historic six-week strike.
Stacey Bendet Eisner, chief executive officer of Alice + Olivia, looked stylish as she arrived wearing a matching white set with an artistic face pattern, big black sunglasses and a hat.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is attending this years conference after announcing in February he intends to retire in 2029 after 14 years on the job.
Wendi Murdoch, ex-wife of Rupert Murdoch who got married for the fifth time in June, was spotting arriving at the resort in a Dior shirt, brown pants, sunglasses and a hat.
Other media titans in attendance are Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida, Heart CEO Steven Swartz, Yahoo boss Jim Lanzone and YouTube leader Neal Mohan.
The conference began in 1982, and in its early days founder Herbert Allen – who co-founded Allen & Company with brother Charles – had to beg invitees to come.
But now, the Sun Valley conference has built a reputation for hosting high profile business deals, or at least being the site of the conversations that started them.
Previous deals that have their roots at Sun Valley include the 1995 purchase of Capital Cities/ABC by Disney, Comcast’s acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2009, the purchase of AOL by Verizon in 2015, and Jeff Bezos’ purchase of The Washington Post in 2013.
Other famous faces that have shown up at the business getaway over the years includes Mark Zuckerberg, McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook, and PayPal CEO Dan Schulman.