The 69th Bilderberg Meeting, a secretive conclave of global power brokers, kicked off yesterday in Lisbon, Portugal, with issues on the agenda including transnational threats, artificial intelligence, and America’s leadership in world affairs.
About 130 participants from 23 countries have confirmed their attendance.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
[Note: There is a known pattern of the NATO Secretary General and heads of state attending Bilderberg meetings.
Wikispooks notes that the top item on the agenda of the 1966 Bilderberg meeting was the reorganising of NATO. Since that meeting, no one has been permanently appointed as NATO Secretary General without first attending at least one meeting of the Bilderberg.
All Dutch Prime Ministers since 1982 have attended the Bilderberg meetings.
Since 1963, only three UK Prime Ministers have not attended the Bilderberg group; John Major, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Demonstrating that the most common pattern is to attend a Bilderberg meeting before becoming the leader of a political party.
Both Wikispooks and Public Intelligence have participant lists from nearly every Bilderberg meeting since the first in 1954. Public Intelligence also has a collection of thousands of pages of internal Bilderberg correspondence and meeting reports.]
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.
“It seems like an awful lot of senior European politicians to be discussing vital topics such as Ukraine, Russia, and NATO, with such senior NATO officials, and with no press oversight and no press conference,” Skelton told The Epoch Times.
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.
Read the full article published by Epoch Times HERE.
Bilderberg Meetings: List of Participants 2023
- Abrams, Stacey (USA), CEO, Sage Works Production
- Achleitner, Paul M. (DEU), Chair, Global Advisory Board, Deutsche Bank AG
- Agrawal, Ajay (CAN), Professor of Economics, University of Toronto
- Albares, José Manuel (ESP), Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Altman, Sam (USA), CEO, OpenAI
- Alverà, Marco (ITA), Co-Founder, zhero.net; CEO TES
- Andersson, Magdalena (SWE), Leader, Social Democratic Party
- Applebaum, Anne (USA), Staff Writer, The Atlantic
- Arnaut, José Luís (PRT), Managing Partner, CMS Rui Pena & Arnaut
- Attal, Gabriel (FRA), Minister for Public Accounts
- Balsemão, Francisco Pinto (PRT), Chair, Impresa Group
- Barbizet, Patricia (FRA), Chair and CEO, Temaris & Associés SAS
- Barroso, José Manuel (PRT), Chair, International Advisors, Goldman Sachs
- Baudson, Valérie (FRA), CEO, Amundi SA
- Beaune, Clément (FRA), Minister for Transport
- Benson, Sally (USA), Professor of Energy Science and Engineering, Stanford University
- Beurden, Ben van (NLD), Special Advisor to the Board, Shell plc
- Borg, Anna (SWE), President and CEO, Vattenfall AB
- Borrell, Josep (INT), Vice President, European Commission
- Botín, Ana P. (ESP), Group Executive Chair, Banco Santander SA
- Bourla, Albert (USA), Chair and CEO, Pfizer Inc.
- Braathen, Kjerstin (NOR), CEO, DNB ASA
- Brende, Børge (NOR), President, World Economic Forum
- Brink, Dolf van den (NLD), CEO, Heineken NV
- Brudermüller, Martin (DEU), CEO, BASF SE
- Buberl, Thomas (FRA), CEO, AXA SA
- Byrne, Thomas (IRL), Minister for Sport and Physical Education
- Carney, Mark (CAN), Vice Chair, Brookfield Asset Management
- Cassis, Ignazio (CHE), Federal Councillor, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
- Castries, Henri de (FRA), President, Institut Montaigne
- Cavoli, Christopher (INT), Supreme Allied Commander Europe
- Ceylan, Mehmet Fatih (TUR), President, Ankara Policy Center
- Chhabra, Tarun (USA), Senior Director for Technology and National Security, National Security Council
- Creuheras, José (ESP), Chair, Grupo Planeta and Atresmedia
- Debackere, Koenraad (BEL), Chair, KBC Group NV
- Deese, Brian (USA), Former Director, National Economic Council
- Donohoe, Paschal (INT), President, Eurogroup
- Döpfner, Mathias (DEU), Chair and CEO, Axel Springer SE
- Easterly, Jen (USA), Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- Economy, Elizabeth (USA), Senior Advisor for China, Department of Commerce
- Ehrnrooth, Henrik (FIN), Chair, Otava Group
- Émié, Bernard (FRA), Director General for External Security, Ministry of the Armed Forces
- Empoli, Giuliano da (ITA), Political Scientist and Writer, Sciences Po
- Entrecanales, José M. (ESP), Chair and CEO, Acciona SA
- Eriksen, Øyvind (NOR), President and CEO, Aker ASA
- Ferguson, Niall (USA), Milbank Family Senior Fellow, Stanford University
- Fleming, Jeremy (GBR), Former Director, GCHQ
- Frederiksen, Mette (DNK), Prime Minister
- Freeland, Chrystia (CAN), Deputy Prime Minister
- Garijo, Bélen (DEU), Chair and CEO, Merck KGaA
- Gentiloni, Paolo (INT), Commissioner for Economy, European Commission
- Gonzáles Pons, Esteban (ESP), Vice Chair, European People’s Party
- Gosset-Grainville, Antoine (FRA), Chair, AXA
- Goulimis, Nicky (GRC), Board Member and Co-Founder, Nova Credit Inc.
- Griffin, Kenneth (USA), Founder and CEO, Citadel LLC
- Gruber, Lilli (ITA), Anchor, La7 TV
- Gürkaynak, Refet (TUR), Professor of Economics, Bilkent University
- Haines, Avril D. (USA), Director of National Intelligence
- Halberstadt, Victor (NLD), Professor of Economics, Leiden University
- Hassabis, Demis (GBR), CEO, DeepMind
- Hedegaard, Connie (DNK), Chair, KR Foundation
- Hofreiter, Anton (DEU), MP; Chair Committee on European Affairs
- Holzen, Madeleine von (CHE), Editor-in-Chief, Le Temps
- Jensen, Kristian (DNK), CEO, Green Power Denmark
- Joshi, Shashank (GBR), Defence Editor, The Economist
- Kaag, Sigrid (NLD), Minister of Finance; Deputy Prime Minister
- Karp, Alex (USA), CEO, Palantir Technologies Inc.
- Kasparov, Garry (USA), Chair, Renew Democracy Initiative
- Kieli, Kasia (POL), President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. Discovery Poland
- Kissinger, Henry A. (USA), Chairman, Kissinger Associates Inc.
- Koç, Ömer (TUR), Chair, Koç Holding AS
- Kolesnikov, Andrei (INT), Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Kostrzewa, Wojciech (POL), President, Polish Business Roundtable
- Kotkin, Stephen (USA), Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
- Kravis, Henry R. (USA), Co-Chairman, KKR & Co. Inc.
- Kravis, Marie-Josée (USA), Chair, The Museum of Modern Art
- Kudelski, André (CHE), Chair and CEO, Kudelski Group SA
- Kuleba, Dmytro (UKR), Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Lammy, David (GBR), Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, House of Commons
- Leysen, Thomas (BEL), Chair, Umicore and Mediahuis; Chair DSM-Firmenich AG
- Liikanen, Erkki (FIN), Chair, IFRS Foundation Trustees
- Looney, Bernard (GBR), CEO, BP plc
- Marin, Sanna (FIN), Prime Minister
- Metsola, Roberta (INT), President, European Parliament
- Micklethwait, John (USA), Editor-in-Chief, Bloomberg LP
- Minton Beddoes, Zanny (GBR), Editor-in-Chief, The Economist
- Moreira, Duarte (PRT), Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Zeno Partners
- Moyo, Dambisa (GBR), Global Economist; Member, House of Lords
- Mundie, Craig J. (USA), President, Mundie & Associates LLC
- Nadella, Satya (USA), CEO, Microsoft Corporation
- O’Leary, Michael (IRL), Group CEO, Ryanair Group
- Orida, Deborah (CAN), President and CEO, PSP Investments
- Özel, Soli (TUR), Professor, Kadir Has University
- Papalexopoulos, Dimitri (GRC), Chair, TITAN Cement Group; Treasurer Bilderberg Meetings
- Philippe, Édouard (FRA), Mayor, Le Havre
- Pottinger, Matthew (USA), Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution
- Pouyanné, Patrick (FRA), Chair and CEO, TotalEnergies SE
- Rachman, Gideon (GBR), Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, The Financial Times
- Ramírez, Pedro J. (ESP), Director, El Español
- Rappard, Rolly van (NLD), Co-Founder and Co-Chair, CVC Capital Partners
- Reynders, Didier (INT), European Commissioner for Justice
- Röttgen, Norbert (DEU), MP, German Bundestag
- Rutte, Mark (NLD), Prime Minister
- Salomon, Martina (AUT), Editor-in-Chief, Kurier
- Sawers, John (GBR), Executive Chair, Newbridge Advisory Ltd.
- Schadlow, Nadia (USA), Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
- Schallenberg, Alexander (AUT), Minister for European and International Affairs
- Schmidt, Eric E. (USA), Former CEO and Chair, Google LLC
- Schmidt, Wolfgang (DEU), Head of the Chancellery, Federal Minister for Special Tasks
- Sebastião, Nuno (PRT), Chair and CEO, Feedzai
- Sikorski, Radoslaw (POL), MEP, European Parliament
- Silva, Filipe (PRT), CEO, Galp
- Stilwell de Andrade, Miguel (PRT), CEO, EDP
- Stoltenberg, Jens (INT), Secretary General, NATO
- Subramanian, Arvind (INT), Senior Fellow in International and Public Affairs, Brown University
- Tellis, Ashley J. (USA), Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs, Carnegie Endowment
- Thiel, Peter (USA), President, Thiel Capital LLC
- Tsu, Jing (USA), Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures, Yale University
- Tugendhat, Tom (GBR), Minister of State for Security
- Vadera, Shriti (GBR), Chair, Prudential plc
- Vassilakis, Eftichios (GRC), Chair, Aegean Group
- Waldron, John (USA), President and COO, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
- Wallenberg, Marcus (SWE), Chair, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB
- Wennink, Peter (NLD), President and CEO, ASML Holding NV
- Wright, Thomas (USA), Senior Director for Strategic Planning, National Security Council
- Yang, Yuan (GBR), Europe-China Correspondent, Financial Times
- Yergin, Daniel (USA), Vice Chair, S&P Global
- Yinanç, Barçin (TUR), Journalist, T24 News Website