The forecast for Sun Valley, Idaho, next week is sunny with a chance of moguls.
That's right: It's time for the rich and powerful to convene for investment bank Allen Co.'s annual conference, a not-so-secretive gathering that brings together the elite from the worlds of media, technology, sports, industry and politics.
This is the 30th year of the Allen event, and although the bar has gotten lower in terms of who gets invited, there will still be plenty of C-suite executives schmoozing with one another on the tennis courts and hiking trails and in the conference rooms. The conference is famous for being the birthplace of lots of mergers, including the Walt Disney-ABC deal and Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal.
It's not just for rich old white men. Oprah Winfrey will be there, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker is on the guest list too.Â
Confirmed guests are News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch with sons Lachlan and James in tow. Murdoch's No. 2 at News Corp. -- Chase Carey -- will be there too, and daughter Liz may drop by.
Time Warner's Jeff Bewkes will attend, as will Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, CBS chief Leslie Moonves and Discovery President David Zaslav. Also making an appearance will be new Sony chief Kazuo Hirai, alongside longtime attendees including Barry Diller, John Malone and Warren Buffett.Â
Expected from Silicon Valley are Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg probably will be updating their statuses from there, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates is supposed t o make the trip down from Redmond, Wash. Apple chief Tim Cook is also thought to be attending, which is noteworthy because his predecessor -- the late Steve Jobs -- made a habit of blowing off the Allen conference.
A few agents may be loitering around the grounds too. ICM's Chris Silbermann and UTA's Jim Berkus both got invitations. But if you are looking for an Emanuel there, you'll have to be satisfied with Rahm, not Ari.
Also on hand will be NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NBA Commissioner David Stern. Whether any athletes will be on hand remains to be seen, but Jeremy Lin or Tim Tebow would certainly make the same type of splash there that LeBron James did in 2009.
Some politicians are also on the guest list including New Jersey governor Chris Christie and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski also got an invite but he migh t be a late arrival since he's schedled to be testifying before Congress on Tuesday.
With all these A-listers, there will no doubt be a large media presence too. But don't look for much dirt coming out of the conference. Over the last several years, Allen has cracked down on media access. Never allowed to attend the panels and seminars, lately reporters haven't even been able to hang in the bar with the big shots. Mostly they huddle outside buildings and shout questions like "Any deals happening?," then go back to tweeting jokes about the event.
But Allen does show some love to members of the media they think are special by letting them moderate panels. Reporters on the guest list this year are Tom Brokaw, CNN's Erin Burnett, CBS' Charlie Rose and CNBC's Becky Quick. Maybe they'll even get to have a drink at the bar.
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