Microsoft and McKinsey pay up to $1 million each to back Donald Trump’s Davos hub

Keystone / Michael Buholzer

Microsoft and McKinsey are among the US companies paying up to $1 million (CHF790,000) each to sponsor a Davos venue that will serve as a base for US government officials during President Donald Trump’s trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) later this month.

Paying to back the venue, housed in a small church in the Swiss ski resort, would give big companies the opportunity to “support the US delegation in Davos” and get their brand in front of “global decision makers”, according to a website set up for the so-called USA House. 

Microsoft, McKinsey and cryptocurrency firm Ripple are among the companies that have signed up as sponsors, ahead of Trump’s first in-person appearance at Davos in six years. JPMorgan Chase has also been approached to act as a sponsor.

The forum, which has happened in Davos since 1971, has long run alongside an informal “house” system whereby countries and corporations independently hire out local shops and hotels to convert into venues where they can host events and network.

Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Belgium are among the countries that have operated these hubs in recent years. 

The USA House effort is being led by Richard Stromback, a former ice hockey player turned investor who has been a well-known figure in Davos for more than a decade.

Stromback is known for organising parties at the event and once told the New Yorker magazine he wanted to create a “Burning Man for billionaires”, referring to the popular week-long festival in the Nevada desert. 

USA House’s events will mostly be held in a small church founded in the 1880s that sits just outside the famous promenade – and outside the forum’s security perimeter. The English Church will be draped in memorabilia celebrating the 250th anniversary of the 1776 Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. 

With two weeks to go until global leaders and senior executives convene in the Swiss alps, there is little detail on the USA House website about programming except for a list of themes that includes “peace through strength”, “digital assets & economic resilience” and “faith-based initiatives”.

Those wishing to attend have been told that there will be strict security protocols because of the presence of senior US administration officials. But the website also states that USA House is “privately organised” and “does not represent the US government”. 

Trump is gearing up for his return to the global forum, where the theme this year is “a spirit of dialogue”, with his intervention in Venezuela and the impact on oil likely to be a key talking point among attendees. His last appearance was a virtual address days after his inauguration last January, in which the president blasted the Paris climate accord and promised to “unlock the liquid gold” of fossil fuels. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Microsoft, McKinsey, Ripple and JPMorgan declined to comment.

Additional reporting by Ellesheva Kissin

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