News
Mum´s the word as world’s business elite rendezvous at Sun Valley
Secrecy shrouds annual conclave of industry titans
SUN VALLEY — The bridge players are lined up. The outfitters and
guides have their fly-fishing rods and hiking boots spiffed up and
ready to go.
The Idaho Statesman
Hundreds of rental cars have been brought in from Boise, Salt Lake
City and elsewhere, doubling the number of rental cars motoring up and down Idaho 75.
And dozens of baby-sitters have been screened to ensure they have a good handle on child
care and safety.
Now, Sun Valley is simply waiting on the billionaires and millionaires — the titans of the
entertainment and tech industries — to show up for what is one of the top executive retreats
in the nation.
On Tuesday, Lear jets will start dropping out of the sky one after another onto the
high-altitude runway at Hailey´s Friedman Memorial Airport.
The tarmac will become an outdoor showroom for ultra-chic private jets, as high-rollers from
Wall Street, Hollywood, the dot-com world and the nation´s top news organizations filter into
Sun Valley for five to six days of networking, food, schmoozing, whitewater raft trips and other
activities, including friendly bridge games.
It´s all courtesy of one man: New York investment banker Herbert Allen, who picks up the tab
for everything from breakfast smoothies to horseback rides.
Allen, who has a condo in Sun Valley, has been skiing there since the early ´70s.
He has given generously to the community library, hospital auxiliary and other causes, even
though it isn´t his primary residence.
This is the 20th anniversary of Allen´s shindig, and some people fear it may be the last due to
increasing security concerns.
New York security personnel have been brought in this year to tighten security around the
event in the wake of Sept. 11.
It´s kind of scary to get so many of the nation´s leaders in high-tech and other industries
together in one place, some point out.
Big names are a given
Microsoft´s Bill Gates is a habitual guest at the convention. So is News Corp. Chairman
Rupert Murdoch.
Other guests have included Oprah Winfrey, NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, Warren Buffett,
Dreamworks SKG founders David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, America Online CEOs
Gerald Levin and Steve Case, cable channel/Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner, Disney
executive Michael Eisner, actress Jane Fonda, actor Tom Hanks and Miami Dolphin owner
and Blockbuster Video co-founder Wayne Huizenga.
Last year, Mexican President Vicente Fox came to talk about import tariffs, the
methamphetamine trade and the NAFTA treaty — and how the flood of Mexican nationals into
the United States was creating a labor shortage in Mexico that had to be filled by workers
from Central America.
The conference received unwanted attention last year when Washington Post publisher
Katharine Graham fell outside her Sun Valley guest cottage and subsequently died in a Boise
hospital. Graham, 84, had dropped out of a golf and bridge game earlier because she didn´t
feel well.
Guests and their families come at Allen´s invitation to take advantage of Sun Valley´s low-key
atmosphere and its reputation for being a haven of seclusion for celebrities.
They will gather at 7:30 a.m. daily to attend conference sessions on topics such as the
Internet and to dream up such things as being able to watch visuals on a screen that fans out
of a pen or pair of eyeglasses.
Come afternoon, they´ll make industry-shaking transactions under tents on Sun Valley´s
soccer field and in lodge conference rooms — far from the glare of Wall Street. One of the
biggest deals was struck in 1995, when Disney purchased Capital Cities and ABC for $19
billion.
Despite its role in the business dealings of corporate America, little is known about the Allen
and Co. conclave. Reporters from CNN, Bloomberg News, the New York Post and other media
were allowed into a few selective events in 1999.
And Vanity Fair magazine sent ace photographer Annie Liebovitz to shoot pictures of Bill
Gates, Warren Buffett and others in the sagebrush-covered meadows along Corral Creek.
But the door was slammed shut the next year — not even Liebovitz was allowed back.
Workers at car rental agencies are asked not to divulge who they´ve rented cars to.
Baby-sitters and bridge players are asked to sign confidentiality agreements. Those who
break the trust are not asked to return.
Allen himself is an intensely private man who once told Forbes magazine he was reticent
about publicity because he didn´t need “the kindness of strangers.”
Mixed blessing
As the whine of the jet engines increases, so does the whining of valley residents —
particularly those who live near the airport.
But other locals are quick to shush them, reminding them of the benefits they say the Allen
and Co. gathering brings to the area.
Carol Waller, who heads up the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber and Visitors Bureau says
she´s not aware of any studies pinpointing how much money Herb Allen spends in taking care
of his guests.
“But it has a huge economic impact on the area. It´s got to be in the millions of dollars,” she
said.
Some parents boast that the generous baby-sitting wages Allen and Co. pays — $20 an
hour, with hefty tips on top of that — have helped put their children through college.
Youngsters can earn more than $1,000 for five days´ work. There are fringe benefits,
besides; some baby-sitters have been invited on weeklong vacations to places like Nantucket
Island, courtesy of the families whose children they care for.
The commitment is pretty hefty: from 6 a.m. to midnight. But the rewards are attractive
enough that some people take a week off their regular jobs to do it.
“It´s fun,” said one woman, recounting days full of arts and crafts, acting programs by
Company of Fools and other local groups and Disney characters flown in by Allen and Co. for
the youngsters´ amusement. “It´s like going to summer camp.”
Allen takes care of every detail. Work on the conference begins in April to ensure everything
is carried off with seamless precision.
Buses ferrying conference attendees to whitewater raft trips on the Upper Salmon River near
Stanley are accompanied by doctors and tour guides, who rattle off facts about Idaho´s
mining history and great blue heron nesting areas.
An empty bus accompanies the entourage, in the event another bus has engine trouble or a
flat tire. And an emergency helicopter is stationed at Stanley in case someone has to be
evacuated.
Hostesses are discouraged from wearing perfume, nail polish or heavy makeup — Allen
wants “natural gals” who will help his guests shuck the feeling of being in a big city, if only for
a few days.
Bridge with bigwigs
Locals revel at the chance to play cards with people like Graham.
“They´re real nice people,” said one man. “They don´t talk about what they do when they´re
with us. They just want to play a good game of bridge.”
In the early years, when just 40 or so people attended, things were a lot more open and
free-spirited, said one Sun Valley outfitter.
But as the event grew to 300-plus people, and as security concerns mounted, conference
activities became more controlled and limited.
Baby-sitters used to drive their young charges around to various activities; activities now are
held on site.
“They don´t let them do nearly as much as they used to do,” the outfitter said.
Don DeVore, who owns Gallery Oscar, said he´d like to see some of the money Allen and Co.
participants have to spend — especially in a year like this, when business is off. But Allen &
Co. guests rarely make it as far as his art gallery on the Baldy side of Ketchum.
“You´ll see them biking through Ketchum or Sun Valley once in a while. And they do rent out
some of Ketchum´s restaurants for the evening. But they keep the people pretty busy at Sun
Valley. And there´s nothing wrong with that. That´s just the way it is,” he said.
No one knows just who is on the guest list this year.
Nor does anyone know whether the topics will include the dragging economy or Microsoft´s
“top secret” Freon x-box console that can record television shows into a computer hard drive.
They can only guess.
“But I think I would love to be a bug on the wall of the tent,” said one observer, “when they get
around to discussing Arthur Andersen and WorldCom and Enron, which I´m sure they will get
around to.”
