Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, N.J., is a prodigious Twitter user. Not surprisingly, when he arrived at the annual Allen & Co. retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho, in July 2010, he took the time to send out a note to his followers. The conference is a laid-back scene where billionaires like Rupert Murdoch, Warren Buffett, and Bill Gates enjoy the outdoors, trailed by packs of reporters and photographers. “Lots of leaders of industry here,” Booker tweeted. “Very engaging conversations.”
Booker was ostensibly in Sun Valley to talk about the future of American cities with Charlie Rose. Like any politician, he was also prospecting for donors. His friend, Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, told him that the company’s co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg, would be attending. Booker was eager to meet him.
