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What billionaires and CEOs are wearing at 2024’s Sun Valley conference

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What billionaires and CEOs are wearing at 2024’s Sun Valley conference

Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos were among dozens of CEOs, celebrities, and billionaires using Sun Valley as their own runway.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

  • Execs and celebs headed to the Sun Valley Conference this week, giving us a look into their style.
  • The conference, known as ‘summer camp for billionaires,’ typically has a casual dress code.
  • As well as the requisite vests, attendees wore red accents, gold accessories, and colored glasses.

Every July, executives in tech, media, and finance flock to the small resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho, for the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Forum — aka “summer camp for billionaires.”

Attendees usually adhere to a simple dress code of t-shirts, vests, and athleisure for conference sessions in between the rounds of golf, schmoozing, and dealmaking.

This year, though, the sartorial choices were bolder than usual.

Among the usual muted grays and blues, several attendees were sporting splashes of red. While wearable health tracking devices like Apple Watches and Oura rings are standard fare for the tech class, this year, some opted for flashier accessories: gold chain bracelets, big earrings, and bright glasses.

Here’s what the who’s who of the business world wore at the Sun Valley conference this week.

The first rule of billionaire style — nothing beats a simple t-shirt

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wearing a gray t-shirt and black sunglasses.
Bloomberg/Getty Images

While t-shirts in tech are nothing new, they have gotten an upgrade.

T-shirts, like the one worn by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, are now heavier and more fitted, rather than the $20 Hanes worn by coders in their college days.

“Now it’s thick enough, durable, and quality enough that it’s the outer layer,” Victoria Hitchcock, a San Francisco Bay Area fashion and lifestyle brander, told Business Insider.

Red was everywhere this year, from head-to-toe crimson outfits…

Stacey Bendet Eisner, the CEO of fashion brand Alice + Olivia, decked out in red.
Bloomberg/Getty

Stacey Bendet Eisner, the CEO of the Alice + Olivia fashion brand, routinely has some of the most eye-catching outfits at Sun Valley.

“Do you think that Mark Zuckerberg gets his makeup done on his way to Sun Valley at 4:30 in the morning, too?” she pondered in a video posted to Instagram.

…to darker pops of the color…

Political analyst Van Jones donning a maroon sweater.
Bloomberg/Getty

Political analyst Van Jones arrived in a red sweater — a splash of brightness among the more muted tones typical for the event. The inspiration comes straight from the runway, Hitchcock said, pointing to recent collections from Marni and Valentino.

…to red conference merch

Max Levchin, founder and chief executive of fintech company Affirm, wearing the conference’s branded red zip-up.
Bloomberg/Getty Images

When it comes to the Sun Valley Conference, there’s no shame in sporting branded merch. Many attendees could be seen in red Allen & Co. zip-ups or carrying them in case it got chilly.

“You can’t go wrong,” Hitchcock said about choosing the branded gear. “These are the same people who were wearing the logos of their own companies forever and ever.”

Guests weren’t afraid of flashy accessories, with some donning gold chain bracelets

Designer Diane Von Furstenberg and her husband, media exec Barry Diller, personalized their looks with striking accessories.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg was among a handful of attendees wearing gold chain jewelry — a trend that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also recently adopted.

“You see it everywhere — that layered, chunky gold,” Hitchcock said.

Other opted for colored glasses

Brian Grazer, cofounder of Imagine Entertainment, sporting bright lenses.
Bloomberg / Contributor/Getty Images

Brian Grazer, cofouner of Imagine Entertainment, and media exec Barry Diller were seen sporting yellow lenses, while CBS news anchor Gayle King made a splash with her bright green frames.

Oprah Winfrey ditched color, opting for an all-white outfit

Oprah Winfrey was in all-white at the conference.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Fashion rules don’t discriminate. Regular people and media moguls alike only have three months to wear white. So, Sun Valley is a prime time for attendees to don their best classic colorless looks — like this Phoebe Philo one on Oprah.

In mixed knits, Lauren Sanchez eschewed typical tech style

Lauren Sanchez chose a miniskirt, while Jeff Bezos sported more traditional gear.
Bloomberg/Getty Images

Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez wore an quilted miniskirt for the conference, though she did pair it with sneakers for a more informal look.

And Bezos himself kept it classic Sun Valley in a t-shirt and vest. Turns out, despite some snazzier recent looks from Bezos, you can take the tech bro out of the basement — but you can’t take the basement out of the tech bro.

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