What went down at Davos 2025

Another year, another Davos Summit, another Intrigue recap. 

First, a quick fun fact: there are brands that spend an absolute fortune to be at Davos each year, but not Intrigue — our very own Helen is an invited speaker!

Anyway, around 50 world leaders also attended, including the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen and Argentina’s Javier Milei, while others like Donald Trump got beamed in virtually. And if you’re wondering why football legend David Beckham was there too, he was being honoured for his philanthropy.

As for this year’s theme? It was a classically Davos ‘Collaboration for the Intelligent Age’.  

So let’s get into it. 

1. Zelensky roasts Europe  

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky dialled into the summit on Tuesday to deliver an address that was 75% roast and 25% speech. 

He didn’t mince his words as he argued Europe’s influence on the international stage is fading: “Washington does not believe Europe can bring them something that is really substantial”. And in a world getting more unpredictable, irrelevance = insecurity.    

But Zelensky’s words weren’t aimed at dunking on his European friends. Rather he’s trying (like others) to shake Europe awake to today’s strategic realities, because Ukraine needs a strong Europe to survive Russia’s aggression. And Europe needs a strong Ukraine, too. 

2. Trump declares the US “open for business”

The US president addressed the WEF summit virtually to announce that his country is back under new management and “open for business”, turbo-charged by the “largest deregulation campaign in history”.

But in keeping with his first week vibes, Trump also balanced the sales pitch with some warnings, telling CEOs to “come make your product in America” or face more tariffs. 

He also made some big demands, including: 

• Immediate US rate cuts (like many other central banks, the Fed is independent)
• Lower oil prices (his comments triggered a 1% drop in crude) 
• Higher NATO defence spending (Lithuania already pledged 5% of GDP), and
• An even bigger US investment pledge from the Saudis, from $600B to a neat $1T.

Anyway, if you’re looking for a quick distillation of how the returned president intends to approach the world this time around, there’s your answer ☝️

3. Tech CEOs are celebrating

The last couple of Davoses (our inner Latin student almost went with Davi) have been more subdued: between suffocating inflation, post-Covid uncertainties, and new wars erupting, there wasn’t much to (self)celebrate. 

But the vibes have shifted, depending on your sector. Tech titans sound more excited about the future, and the crypto crowd is now more enthusiastic than a mid-hug Modi.

Sure, that’s partly due to more confidence in the global economic outlook, but it’s also a response to Trump’s undiluted pro-business and pro-US vibes.

4. EU competitiveness 

Ursula von der Leyen’s keynote focused on a shifting world and the EU’s role in this “new era of harsh geostrategic competition.”

Effectively agreeing with a lot of Zelensky’s earlier roast, the European leader acknowledged that her bloc has “relied on the rising tide of global trade to drive its growth. It has relied on cheap energy from Russia. And Europe has too often outsourced its own security.” But according to von der Leyen, “those days are gone.” 

She went on to outline the Commission’s plans to invest in innovation, reform European capital markets, and cut red tape. It’s a daunting task, but within reach if Europe wants it. And we saw that reflected in the various European delegations popping up around Davos: they’re all feeling an inflexion point across their economics, politics, and geopolitics.

5. The Gulf takes over Davos 

Arguably, the Gulf states were the best at staying on the summit’s theme. The Emiratis, for example, sponsored (via their G42 venture) the Davos AI House, reflecting their continued efforts to modernise and diversify their economy away from hydrocarbons. 

But the Gulf states weren’t the region’s only players with something to prove. Syria’s new foreign minister (al-Shibani) also told the Davos crowds that Syria is now open for business after booting Assad, but it really needs “the help of the international community”.

And that’s a kinda intriguing place to end: Al-Shibani long worked for the de-facto HTS government in rebel-held parts of Assad’s Syria. That means in the past month he’s gone from being a member of a US-listed terrorist group to headlining at Davos. What a flex.

INTRIGUE’S TAKE

There’s always a bit of banter about the “death of Davos man” — a way of saying our world is ditching globalism, multilateralism, and the golden age of free trade. And yes, we definitely feel that vibe shift — in fact, we flag it in practically every Intrigue edition.

You can arguably see the same vibe shift in the way more of the Davos action and interest has increasingly shifted away from the ultra-exclusive Hotel Kongress and out to the side events along the promenade. That’s where we saw big moves by everyone from South Africa, Brazil, and India through to Mongolia, Kosovo, and even Kurdistan.

So then, why do all these companies and countries keep ploughing cash into a dying idea of Davos? Because Davos is still the place you go to help shape what comes next.

Also worth noting:

• WEF’s first Davos summit took place in 1971.