The Bilderberg Meeting is an annual, invitation-only conference of elite social and political individuals held in Europe that fosters discussion between European and the North American power centers. The meeting has been held annually since the 1950s and attracts CEOs of major corporations, heads of labor unions, and political elites from across the political spectrum including President Bill Clinton and Prince Charles.

While the organization publicizes who attends the meeting, the organization operates with a rule under which attendees agree not to quote one another, leading to much of the discussion taking place at the conference to be confidential. The secretive nature of the conference agenda has led to criticism and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories surrounding the organization. ¹

Background

The Bilderberg Meeting was first held in 1954, with the intent of fostering communications and partnerships between royalty, politicians, and other elite members of society in Europe and North America, particularly the United States. The stated purpose of the early meeting was to foster the alliance between the United States and Western Europe to prevent another World War. ²

The annual meeting consists of 130 attendees from Europe and North America and usually takes place in Europe, with the 2019 meeting to taking place in Montreux, Switzerland. ³ The meeting is named for the Hotel de Bilderberg in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands, where the inaugural meeting was held in 1954. ⁴

Activity

The Bilderberg Meeting operates under the “Chatham House Rule,” which allows participants to use the information gathered at the event but prohibits attendees from quoting particular attendees. The organization states on its website that this unique make up of the meeting allows participants to speak freely regardless of pollical positions and free from public opinion. There is no detailed agenda at the event, with the organization also stating that no votes are taken or policy positions released. ⁵

Amid criticism in recent years of the secretive nature of the Bilderberg Meeting and the high profile attendees that it attracts, the group has made moves towards greater transparency by releasing a list of the 120 to 150 annual attendees on the day before the event along with a list of subjects that they intend to discuss, although it is noted that the subjects are very broad areas such as cybersecurity, terrorism, and the world economy. ⁶

The organization is often criticized as a “cabal” of the rich and powerful, with conspiracy theorists making the unfounded accusation that the group of exists to install a “world government.” Criticism comes from opposing sides, with American criticism of the group being that it is a European Union-run group trying to threaten American freedom, and Europeans deriding the group for being pro-free market and pushing a right-of-center agenda. ⁷

Participants

Notable Bilderberg meeting participants have included:⁸

• Stacey Abrams, Democratic activist and former candidate for Governor of Georgia
• Jose Barroso, Chairman, Goldman Sachs International
• Mary Kay Henry, International President, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
• Jared Kushner, Trump White House aide
• Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State in the Nixon and Ford administrations
• Megan McArdle, Washington Post journalist
• Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
• David Petraeus, retired military officer and Director of the CIA in the Obama administration
• Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation

1. de Castella, Tom. “Bilderberg mystery: Why do people believe in cabals?” BBC News. June 8, 2011. Accessed July 29, 2020.  https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-13682082
2. de Castella, Tom. “Bilderberg mystery: Why do people believe in cabals?” BBC News. June 8, 2011. Accessed July 29, 2020.  https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-13682082    
3. “Index.” Bilderberg Meetings. Accessed July 29, 2020. https://bilderbergmeetings.org/index.html
4. Sommerlad, Joe. “What is the Bilderberg Group and are its members really plotting the New World Order?” May 28, 2019. Accessed July 29, 2020. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bilderberg-group-conspiracy-theories-secret-societies-new-world-order-alex-jones-a8377171.html
5. “Index.” Bilderberg Meetings. Accessed July 29, 2020. https://bilderbergmeetings.org/index.html
6. Sommerlad, Joe. “What is the Bilderberg Group and are its members really plotting the New World Order?” May 28, 2019. Accessed July 29, 2020. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bilderberg-group-conspiracy-theories-secret-societies-new-world-order-alex-jones-a8377171.html
7. de Castella, Tom. “Bilderberg mystery: Why do people believe in cabals?” BBC News. June 8, 2011. Accessed July 29, 2020.  https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-13682082  
8. “Participants.” Bilderberg Meetings. Accessed July 29, 2020. https://bilderbergmeetings.org/press/press-release/participants