The exclusive gathering brings together political leaders, business executives, and academics from both sides of the Atlantic for closed-door discussions under strict confidentiality rules.
The Bilderberg Meeting guest list reflects the forum’s enduring role as a nexus of elite transatlantic influence, with participants drawn from the highest tiers of politics, business, academia, media, and technology.
Roughly one-third of the guests hold or have recently held top-level government roles, including sitting prime ministers--such as Finland’s Alexander Stubb and Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis--Cabinet ministers, European commissioners, and high-ranking military officers from NATO and the US armed forces.
The presence of multiple European commissioners and current or former finance ministers underlines the group’s strong interest in economic governance and geopolitical stability.
Alongside them, major players from global business, such as the CEOs of Microsoft, Spotify, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, TotalEnergies, and Pfizer, signal the continued interweaving of political decision-making and private sector interests.
The tech sector is particularly well represented, with figures such as Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind, Mustafa Suleyman of Microsoft AI, and investor Peter Thiel indicating a growing focus on AI and defence innovation.
Several prominent journalists and editors, including from The Economist, The New York Times and Bloomberg, suggest media remains a valued lens through which these elites interpret global trends, though under the Chatham House Rule, their participation is private rather than performative.
The inclusion of figures like Applebaum and Stacey Abrams adds transatlantic political-cultural depth, while the involvement of Polish figures such as Sikorski and entrepreneur Rafał Brzoska reflects the region's increasing visibility in Euro-Atlantic strategic discourse.
The only Russian invited is Alexander Gabuev, the head of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an institution banned by the Kremlin in 2022.
The meeting is taking place at Stockholm’s prestigious Grand Hôtel, which has been cordoned off by police since Tuesday in anticipation of protests.
The hotel, owned by the influential Wallenberg family, has blocked reservations for the duration of the event, echoing similar security steps taken ahead of Barack Obama’s 2013 visit to Sweden.
This year’s agenda includes topics such as transatlantic relations, the future of Ukraine, the US and European economies, the Middle East, and the so-called “authoritarian axis” of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.
Discussions will also explore defence innovation, artificial intelligence and national security, energy geopolitics, and global migration trends.
Founded in 1954, the Bilderberg Meeting aims to promote informal dialogue between Europe and North America.
Around two-thirds of participants come from Europe, with the rest from North America. Roughly a quarter are active in politics and government, while the majority represent business, media, academia, and other sectors.
All discussions are held under the Chatham House Rule, which allows participants to use the information shared but prohibits identifying speakers or their affiliations.
The private format, there are no press briefings, resolutions, or official statements, has long fuelled speculation and conspiracy theories about the group’s influence.
However, organizers maintain that the event provides a rare space for candid, off-the-record exchange among global decision-makers, and the guest list is publicly available on the group's website.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP