Business
Trump is going to Davos — here are the big names who aren’t
J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, U.S president Donald Trump and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang are among the who’s who of political leaders, big-name CEOs and tech pioneers heading to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting.
Trump is attending in person for the first time since he addressed the forum during his first term in 2020. His virtual address last year, days after reentering the White House, shook the event. This time, he will bring the “largest” U.S. delegation yet, according to WEF.
Davos organizers are keen to talk up the numbers they expect to attend — “close to 3,000 cross-sector leaders,” plus a “record” 400 political leaders, 850 top company bosses and 100 tech pioneers. But a government at the center of a geopolitical firestorm won’t be there.
Danish government representatives were invited and decided not to attend, a WEF spokesperson said on Monday, as the dispute over Greenland intensified. Their decision underscores how tense the meeting is likely to be, coming just days after Trump announced fresh tariffs on European countries resisting his attempt to annex the Arctic island. “Any decisions on attendance are a matter for the government concerned. We can confirm that the Danish government will not be represented in Davos this week,” the WEF spokesperson said in a statement.
There are big names among those who aren’t going.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to attend, but it was confirmed on Tuesday he would not go.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is not on WEF’s attendance list, neither are the leaders of Brazil and India.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italy’s leader Giorgia Meloni are not on the WEF list, although both are reported to be attending.
Big economic powers
During a press conference last week, WEF organizers highlighted that six of the G7 nations are expected to send representatives, in a “historic” move, according to WEF’s president, Børge Brende.
In 2025, the only G7 leader attending Davos in person was then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Alongside President Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are set to attend in person.
Downing Street would not confirm whether U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is attending — he did not attend last year — but he is reportedly expected to.
In an emergency press conference on Monday morning, Starmer addressed Trump’s announcement of escalating tariffs targeting several European countries, including the U.K., if Greenland isn’t sold to the U.S. But when asked by the BBC whether he would consider meeting Trump in person “this week,” Starmer did not directly answer the question.
U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves is set to attend and be a guest on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi isn’t mentioned on WEF’s list, but she is likely to remain in her country, given that she announced on Monday a snap election for Feb. 8.
‘More of the CEOs’
Davos runs from Monday evening to Friday morning. This year’s theme is “A spirit of dialogue,” with an agenda focusing on five areas: the geopolitical environment, AI, climate and nature, new sources of economic growth and “people and preparedness.”
But the interest will be in who will attend Davos, according to Eric Kutcher, a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, a “strategic partner” to WEF. “It’s going to be about who is there,” he said in a video published by the company. “Much more so than what you see in the topics,” Kutcher said.
Trump’s delegation is set to include U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, plus Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner. The president is scheduled to address Davos on Wednesday.
