World Economic Forum

"Nathan Gardels is now also one of the veterans of the World Economic Forum in Davos. In 1985, he founded the periodical New Perspectives Quarterly, which has been available since 1999 at www.digitalnpq.org and is allegedly read by 35 million people in fifteen languages. This is also the principle that Berggruen follows with his institute: Former heads of state, ministers, and diplomats comment on current world events. Almost forgotten figures like the former head of the UN arms control commission Hans Blix have emerged from obscurity. In New Perspectives Quarterly, the politician, who is now almost 90 years old, explains the similarities between North Korea and Iran. Gardels' "Club of Wise Old Men" aims to provide a spectrum of opinions on conflict topics, just like the Club of Rome. Thus, the former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who chaired the influential private US think tank Council on Foreign Relations from 1977 to 1981, at the age of 90, is just as wise and cosmopolitan as Helmut Schmidt, Abolhassam Banisadr, the first elected president of Iran, comments for New Perspectives Quarterly on the Hollywood film Argo, and Madeleine Albright, US Secretary of State under Bill Clinton, explains why Arab democracy cannot be of American influence. Alongside the old guard, Nathan Gardels also allows writers such as Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, w"

"One other Latin American venture is The Lost Explorer Mezcal, an alcoholic beverage made from the agave plant that encourages patrons to live and drink curiously. This venture came about through my friend the adventurer, conservationist and raconteur David de Rothschild. I first met David on a snowy glacier in Iceland in 2006 when I was hosting a group of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders. Many years later at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert we started drinking mezcal together after David introduced me to the spirit. I was quite sceptical to begin with, but the taste of mezcal is unique and I continued to order it when I was out having a drink. Sharing a mezcal with someone is a conversation-starter and allows people to bond over something special."

"As the money flooded in and I made that *Forbes* front cover, doors kept opening for me and I gained access to a new stratum of people and power. The World Economic Forum in Davos is one example. People talk about it being a networking magnet for the kings of capitalism, but that’s only half the story. I always came back pumped up, energised and with a notebook full of ideas and potential deals. The annual Davos meeting inspires people to make a change; it challenges you on a personal level to have a higher purpose, and gives you a deeper recognition of the challenges of the world. In one way it is like being back at school, and the closeting effect of so much wealth and power being concentrated in one small Swiss village is electrifying."