Davos: Where Rich Perfect Art of Making Poor Poorer

Every January, Davos becomes the moral capital of the global elite. Wrapped in snow, security, and self-congratulation, presidents, billionaires, CEOs, and financiers gather to discuss the fate of a world they rarely experience firsthand. The World Economic Forum presents this annual ritual as a platform for global problem-solving. In truth, Davos has evolved into a carefully managed performance—where concern is expressed, responsibility is deferred, and power remains untouched.

The language of Davos is polished and predictable. “Inclusive growth,” “stakeholder capitalism,” “climate action,” and “global resilience” dominate the agenda. Yet behind this vocabulary lies a stubborn reality - inequality is not shrinking, poverty is not disappearing, and wealth is concentrating at a historic pace. If Davos were effective, the results would speak for themselves, which do not.

What Davos offers is not solutions but comfort—comfort to those who already control capital, technology, and policy access. It is a space where elites reassure one another that the system is flawed but fundamentally sound, that disruption must be managed rather than allowed, and that reform should never threaten ownership or privilege. The poor are omnipresent in speeches and PowerPoint slides, but conspicuously absent from decision-making tables.

The real conversations happen away from the cameras. While developing countries are advised to embrace austerity, fiscal discipline, and structural reforms, multinational corporations negotiate tax privileges, regulatory flexibility, and public subsidies. Workers are told to reskill endlessly, while capital moves freely across borders, protected by legal regimes it helped design. Climate change is acknowledged, yet fossil fuel interests remain deeply embedded in the very forum that claims to champion sustainability.

The return of Donald Trump to global relevance this year did not disrupt Davos—it exposed it. Trump’s blunt nationalism and transactional worldview are often portrayed as an aberration, these are not. He merely articulates openly what Davos practices quietly - power first, profit always, and principles only when convenient. Trump is not the enemy of the Davos mindset; he is its unfiltered expression.

For the Global South, Davos has long been a lecture hall. Countries facing debt, inflation, and political instability are prescribed reforms that protect creditors and investors, rarely citizens. Poverty is treated as a technical problem rather than a political outcome. Inequality is acknowledged, but redistribution remains taboo.

Davos survives because it offers the illusion of responsibility without the cost of change. It turns global suffering into a networking opportunity and moral concern into a branding exercise. Dialogue replaces action; panels replace policy.

The uncomfortable conclusion is unavoidable: In Davos, the rich do not seriously debate how to uplift the poor. They refine strategies to manage inequality in ways that preserve their dominance—making the poor poorer not by conspiracy, but by design.

All set for Davos party

There’s a hangover happening in Davos even though the party hasn’t yet started. The World Economic Forum’s annual winter shindig in the Swiss mountain resort, which kicks off on Monday, marks a return for glitzy parties and high-minded debates following a three-year hiatus.

A record number of business leaders are set to make the trip, and the passage of commercial, private and government aircraft through Zurich’s airport suggests overall attendees are at pre-Covid-19 levels. Yet the direction for the future – and those who will lead it – is more clouded than ever.

Corporate and financial chieftains who skipped last May’s low-key Davos gathering are back. JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon, a regular at the conference, will be joined by Wall Street leaders including David Solomon of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman. Chevron Chief Executive Mike Wirth and BP’s Bernard Looney will represent resurgent oil majors. All in all, the WEF expects to welcome some 2,700 leaders from 130 countries, including 370 public figures.

Yet the apparent return to business as usual only serves to highlight the changes that have taken place since the last full gathering of the Davos elite. The global pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have added more friction to the already creaking globalised world that Davos epitomized.

Meanwhile, the political leaders responsible for shaping the new order are mostly staying at home. US President Joe Biden is not making the trip – unlike his predecessor. Though, a smattering of US Congress members are expected to come they are hardly well-known international figures. China’s most senior representative is Vice-Premier Liu He. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, grappling with a slowing economy and striking public sector workers, is also staying home.

A stroll down the Davos Promenade, the town’s main drag where countries and corporations temporarily take over storefronts, underscores the shift. Poland and Indonesia have a prominent presence, but other national delegations have quieter messages on display. Saudi Arabia has a few conspicuous banners touting NEOM, its futuristic economic zone. The United Arab Emirates is touting tolerance.

The cryptocurrency firms that were at previous gatherings are mostly muted, replaced by companies promoting technologies like the blockchain. The Medical Psychedelics House has been replaced by the India Inclusivity Lounge. Established technology companies like Workday, Salesforce, Cisco, Qualcomm and Meta Platforms dominate the street scene. Perhaps the most striking new tenant is Manchester United, the English Premier League club which is seeking a buyer.

The shift is reflective of a world that has become introspective and less joined-up. As big companies diversify supply chains, governments and regions are competing hard for business. Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is dangling subsidies for American manufacturing, encouraging governors like J.B. Pritzker of Illinois to lure investment to their state. The WEF and its founder Klaus Schwab acknowledged some of this by renaming the conference “Cooperation in a Fragmented World”.

Still, those returning to Davos for the first time in three years may feel like the cocktail is a little less potent.

Courtesy: Reuters