The annual meeting of the influential yet secretive Bilderberg Group is currently taking place in Lisbon, Portugal.
Attending are the leader of the Social Democrats and former Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, as well as Swedish oligarch Marcus Wallenberg and state-owned energy company Vattenfall CEO Anna Borg.
The Bilderberg meeting is taking place between the 18th and 21st of May with around 130 specially selected participants from 23 countries attending.
“As ever, a diverse group of political leaders and experts from industry, finance, academia, labour and the media has been invited”, the Bilderberg Group said in a press release.
The elite’s discussions and talks take place without public scrutiny or journalistic coverage. This year’s focus includes artificial intelligence, the banking system, China, NATO, Russia, “transnational threats” and the energy transition.
“The meetings are held under the Chatham House Rule, which states that participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s) nor any other participant may be revealed”, the press release continues.
It can also be noted that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla is present, along with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and former Google CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt. Goldman Sachs Chairman John Waldron, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola are three other examples of the type of clientele the event is targeting.
Despite the lack of transparency and secrecy surrounding the Bilderberg Group meetings, the group itself is keen to downplay their importance and impact. They claim that the meeting should be seen primarily as a place where invited leaders can “take time to listen, reflect and gather insights”.
“There is no detailed agenda, no resolutions are proposed, no votes are taken and no policy statements are issued”, according to the press release.