Gates, Buffet Speak, and the Moguls Listen

Dan Cox, on special assignment for FishbowlLA, covering the 2008 Sun Valley Media Conference. On the closing day of the Sun Valley Media Conference, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett held court with individual speeches about — what else — money. Gates spoke about collecting it for his Gates Foundation, while Buffett discussed how it could be spent to help the country, according to people who listened. "Bill said amazing things," said James Robinson III, former chairman of American Express. "He had all sorts of things to say about raising money for such things as medicine and diseases. He was very engaging and interesting, as he is every year." About 200 of those left at the conference attended the speeches, which had a ridiculously inordinate amount of security, with every entrance and exit to the speakers' hall watched by four guards. Mediabistro, which was kept out by at least three different guards at entrances, thinks that's what billionaire-type money brings. But a few who stuck around to listen to billionaire mentality included William Morris Agency's Jim Wiatt, Yahoo!'s Sue Decker, ICM's Chris Silbermann, Page1Media's Isaac Lee, Google's Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Starr & Co.'s Ken Starr, News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch, Time Warner's Richard Parsons, media chef Rachael Ray, Scripps Co.'s Ken Lowe, former Disney chair Michael Eisner, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and CNN's Anderson Cooper. Though almost half the invitees departed on Friday night, some stuck around to celebrate host Herb Allen with a special dinner last night. And, as every year, a special outdoors ice show (in the middle of summer!!!) took place behind the Sun Valley Lodge. Friday night, Murdoch and Parsons were secluded at a table in the Sun Valley Lodge bar, discussing either some pending deal or the mixed drinks they wanted to order. Parsons, who stepped down as Time Warner chair a few months ago, earlier told a reporter he was happy to be an observer at the conference this year rather than a corporate participant.

Fishbowl

Gates, Buffet Speak, and the Moguls Listen

Chris Ariens

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Chris Ariens