The first full day of the annual Allen & Co. conference kicked off on Wednesday with a parade of couples making their way to the first session of the morning.
The invite-only conference in Idaho – which has become known as Billionaire Summer Camp – allows the rich and powerful of the media and tech worlds the chance to meet and greet.
Colorado governor and 2020 presidential candidate John Hickenlooper and his wife Robin were among those spotted traversing the grounds of the Sun Valley Inn, where the dress code oscillated from polar fleece vests and hoodies to a $5500 lurex jacquard blazer and pants from Dolce & Gabbana.
That was worn by Felicia Horowitz, who was back in Sun Valley for another year with her husband Ben, the CEO of of Opsware and co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz.
Far more dressed down were film and TV producer Brian Grazer and his wife Veronica, along with investor Michael Ovitz and the always stylish fashion entrepreneur Tamara Mellon.
Those four instead let their accessories shine, with the Grazers and Ovitz all opting for fancy footwear, while Mellon finished off her perfectly tailored jeans and sweater with a leather jacket and five-figure Hermes Birkin.
She also sported her very chic engagement ring, which has been estimated to be worth somewhere in the high six to low seven-figure range.
Colorado governor and 2020 presidential candidate John Hickenlooper and his wife Robin
Film and TV producer Brian Grazer and his wife Veronica (together, left) and Investor Michael Ovitz and fashion entrepreneur Tamara Mellon (together, right)
Singer, actor and producer Wang Leehom walks with his wife Lee Jinglei
The annual conference also reunited Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and businessman Bobby Kotick, with Variety catching the pair ‘deep in conversation.
And lifelong partners media tycoon Barry Diller and fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg made then scene once again.
Felicia Horowitz and Ben Horowitz, chief executive officer of Opsware and co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz (left) and Canadian businesswoman Marie-Josee Kravis with her husband, investor Henry Kravis (right)
Stockbroker David Rubulotta and his wife, CNN news anchor Erin Burnett (left) and innovator Sebastian Thrun and Doreen Xia (right)
James Quincey, chief executive officer of the Coca-Cola Company and his wife Jacqui
Media exec Shari Redstone was all smiles on Tuesday as she arrived at conference, almost one year after she successfully led the charge to oust former CBS Chairman and CEO Les Moonves.
It was a far cry from last year’s gathering, where tensions ran high as both Redstone and Moonves attended the event.
Moonves was not the only poobah to skip this year’s meeting, with longtime guests Robert Kraft and Rupert Murdoch also no-shows this year.
New England Patriots owner Kraft’s absence comes as he is beleaguered by his own sex scandal.
And News Corp chief Murdoch has been laying low ever since contracting pneumonia earlier this year.
But Murdoch’s sons Lachlan and James were both on hand, both with their spouses.
Sex pests were represented at the conference with the arrival of former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw.
David Wehner, CFO of Facebook, and his wife Cathy
Mexican TV mogul Alfonso de Angoiti with his wife Concha (left) and Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar with her husband
Megha Tolia and Nirav Tolia, former chief executive officer of Nextdoo
Venture capitalist Mike Volpi and Toni Cupa (left) and Mike Fries, President and CEO of Liberty Global and Michelle Fries (right)
Walt Disney Chairman Bob Iger will be in Idaho this week but opted to spend the first night of the conference in Los Angeles with Beyonce and the cast of The Lion King at the premiere of the studio’s new live-action film.
The guests on hand at that premiere – where Beyonce walked the red carpet alongside co-stars Donald Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard and Marsai Martin – stood in stark contrast to the scene in Sun Valley, where the powers-that-be at Allen & Co. once again cultivated a guest list with a startling lack of diversity.
Robert Thomson, chief executive officer of News Corp, and his wife Wang Ping
Jordanian diplomat Bisher Al-Khasawneh and Jordanian ambassador to the US Dina Kawar (left) and Snapchat boss Michael Lynton and Jamie Alter Lynton (right)
Amanda Bennett, director of The Voice of America, and Don Graham, former publisher of The Washington Post
Chris Urmson, CEO of Aurora Innovation, with Jennifer Urmson (left) and Twitter CFO Ned Segal and wife Maya (right)
Marc Harrison, president and chief executive officer of Intermountain Healthcare, and Mary Carole Harrison
Bryan Lourd and Tim Cook will also be on hand this year.
The whitewashed conference offered only a handful of its female guests invites on their own accord, with most instead coming as guests of their husbands and partners.
The few who did manage to lean their way included General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Fidelity Investments CEO Abigail Johnson, 23 & Me founder Anne Wojcicki and two Facebook employees – Vice President of Global Partnerships, Business and Corporate Development Marne Levine and COO Sheryl Sandberg.
Nasdaq, Inc. Adena Friedman was also on hand as was EVP and Executive Creative Director of Energy BBDO Susan Treacy.
Among the accomplished plus ones at the event were the stylish and business savvy Tamara Mellon and Stacey Bendet, who arrived with fiance Michael Ovitz and husband Michael Eisner respectively.
LGBTQ representation did not fare better, and like the rest of the guest list was dominated by white men.
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will join Paypal founder Peter Thiel at this year’s event, the former as beloved as the other is reviled by members of the community.