From: zerohedge
The 69th Bilderberg Meeting, a secretive conclave of global power brokers, has kicked off in Lisbon, Portugal, with issues on the agenda including transnational threats, artificial intelligence, and America's leadership in world affairs.
This year's meeting, the latest in a series that began in 1954, continues to blur the lines between open diplomacy and clandestine elitism as political leaders brush shoulders with industry bigwigs, media barons, and finance tycoons.
journalist Charlie Skelton, who's in Lisbon to cover this year's event, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
As usual, the details of their discussions remain obscured by the "Chatham House Rule," a protocol that gives participants the discretion to use the information gleaned from the talks but forbids the identification of speakers or participants, ensuring anonymity.
a Bilderberg Meetings press release reads.
Among the major topics slated for discussion are artificial intelligence, the banking system, energy transition, and industrial policy and trade.
Other high-priority issues include the geopolitical landscapes of Europe, China, India, Russia, and Ukraine, along with NATO and America's global leadership.
The topic of U.S. leadership, which last appeared on the Bilderberg agenda in 2018, comes as China and Russia have ramped up their efforts to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar as the world's pre-eminent reserve currency.
The agenda outlined by the group is as follows:
AI
Banking System
China
Energy Transition
Europe
Fiscal Challenges
India
Industrial Policy and Trade
NATO
Russia
Transnational Threats
Ukraine
US Leadership
Elites Gather
The array of globally influential figures includes NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, with the dynamics of global security cooperation in sharp focus as the war in Ukraine continues with no end in sight.
Also on the security front, attending the meeting are Avril Haines, U.S. director of National Intelligence, and Thomas Wright, senior director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council.
There's no shortage of political leaders, including Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands, and Finland's outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who lost an election but continues to serve as part of a caretaker government until a new cabinet is formed.
Also attending is Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the creator of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT that has grabbed headlines for its potential to replace humans in jobs. Other prominent tech figures include Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, is also on the list of participants, as is Thiel Capital founder Peter Thiel, and John Waldron, president of Goldman Sachs.
Also in attendance are Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice, Alexander Schallenberg, Austria's Minister for European and International Affairs, and Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Kuleba, notably, has been at the forefront of efforts to bolster Western backing for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. He recently took part in a meeting of 27 European Union foreign ministers, where he called for the provision of long-range artillery ammunition and the opening of talks for Ukraine's potential accession to the E.U.
While the Bilderberg Meeting is touted as a private, informal gathering devoid of any official capacity, the implications of such a potent concentration of power have been the subject of scrutiny.
Skelton told The Epoch Times.
he added, referring to reluctance on the part of legacy media outlets to cover the Bilderberg Meetings, which have been the subject of various rumors, including that attendees gather to strategize about how to create a new world order.
The secrecy surrounding the meetings has given rise to a number of unproven theories, including that Bilderberg attendees are behind the creation of the European Union or the invasion of Iraq.
Below is a comprehensive list of participants of the 69th Bilderberg Meetings.
Full List of Participants
Abrams, Stacey (USA), Achleitner, Paul M. (DEU), Agrawal, Ajay (CAN), Albares, Jose Manuel (ESP), Altman, Sam (USA), Alvera, Marco (ITA), Andersson, Magdalena (SWE), Applebaum, Anne (USA), Arnaut, Jose Luis (PRT), M Attal, Gabriel (FRA), Balsemao, Francisco Pinto (PRT), Barbizet, Patricia (FRA), Barroso, Jose Manuel (PRT), Baudson, Valerie (FRA), Beaune, Clement (FRA), Benson, Sally (USA), Beurden, Ben van (NLD), Borg, Anna (SWE), Borrell, Josep (INT), Botin, Ana P. (ESP), Bourla, Albert (USA), Braathen, Kjerstin (NOR), Brende, Borge (NOR), Brink, Dolf van den (NLD), Brudermüller, Martin (DEU), Buberl, Thomas (FRA), Byrne, Thomas (IRL), Carney, Mark (CAN), Cassis, Ignazio (CHE), Castries, Henri de (FRA), Cavoli, Christopher (INT), Ceylan, Mehmet Fatih (TUR), Chhabra, Tarun (USA), Creuheras, Jose (ESP), Debackere, Koenraad (BEL), Deese, Brian (USA), Donohoe, Paschal (INT), Dopfner, Mathias (DEU), Easterly, Jen (USA), Director, Economy, Elizabeth (USA), Ehrnrooth, Henrik (FIN), Emie, Bernard (FRA), Empoli, Giuliano da (ITA), Entrecanales, Jose M. (ESP), Eriksen, Oyvind (NOR), Ferguson, Niall (USA), Fleming, Jeremy (GBR), Frederiksen, Mette (DNK), Freeland, Chrystia (CAN), Garijo, Belen (DEU), Gentiloni, Paolo (INT), Gonzales Pons, Esteban (ESP), Gosset-Grainville, Antoine (FRA), Goulimis, Nicky (GRC), Griffin, Kenneth (USA), Gruber, Lilli (ITA), Gürkaynak, Refet (TUR), Haines, Avril D. (USA), Halberstadt, Victor (NLD), Hassabis, Demis (GBR), Hedegaard, Connie (DNK), Hofreiter, Anton (DEU), Holzen, Madeleine von (CHE), Jensen, Kristian (DNK), Joshi, Shashank (GBR), Kaag, Sigrid (NLD), Karp, Alex (USA), Kasparov, Garry (USA), Kieli, Kasia (POL), Kissinger, Henry A. (USA), Koc, Omer (TUR), Kolesnikov, Andrei (INT), Kostrzewa, Wojciech (POL), Kotkin, Stephen (USA), Kravis, Henry R. (USA), Kravis, Marie-Josee (USA), Kudelski, Andre (CHE), Kuleba, Dmytro (UKR), Lammy, David (GBR), Leysen, Thomas (BEL), Liikanen, Erkki (FIN), Looney, Bernard (GBR), Marin, Sanna (FIN), Metsola, Roberta (INT), Micklethwait, John (USA), Minton Beddoes, Zanny (GBR), Moreira, Duarte (PRT), Moyo, Dambisa (GBR), Mundie, Craig J. (USA), Nadella, Satya (USA), O'Leary, Michael (IRL), Orida, Deborah (CAN), Ozel, Soli (TUR), Papalexopoulos, Dimitri (GRC), Philippe, Edouard (FRA), Pottinger, Matthew (USA), Pouyanne, Patrick (FRA), Rachman, Gideon (GBR), Ramirez, Pedro J. (ESP), Rappard, Rolly van (NLD), Reynders, Didier (INT), Rottgen, Norbert (DEU), Rutte, Mark (NLD), Salomon, Martina (AUT), Sawers, John (GBR), Schadlow, Nadia (USA), Schallenberg, Alexander (AUT), Schmidt, Eric E. (USA), Schmidt, Wolfgang (DEU), Sebastiao, Nuno (PRT), Sikorski, Radoslaw (POL), Silva, Filipe (PRT), Stilwell de Andrade, Miguel (PRT), Stoltenberg, Jens (INT), Subramanian, Arvind (INT), Tellis, Ashley J. (USA), Thiel, Peter (USA), Tsu, Jing (USA), Tugendhat, Tom (GBR), Vadera, Shriti (GBR), Vassilakis, Eftichios (GRC), Waldron, John (USA), Wallenberg, Marcus (SWE), Chair, Wennink, Peter (NLD), Wright, Thomas (USA), Yang, Yuan (GBR), Yergin, Daniel (USA), Yinanc, Barcin (TUR),
