A New Influencer Gabfest Is Set to Fill Clinton Global Initiative Void

The Clinton Foundation has thrown its last Clinton Global Initiative, the star-studded conference on the margins of the United Nations annual General Assembly meeting. But the do-gooders, executives, heads of state, and other influencers who’ve flocked to the Clintons’ annual New York gabfest need not fear: There’s another conference happening in the same city in the same week and with a similar agenda. It’s even attracted a lot of the same people who’ve attended the Clinton event in the past, including Madeleine Albright, Cherie Blair, and George Soros.

The Clinton Global Initiative is being shut down by the foundation as part of a plan for “eliminating legitimate concerns about potential conflicts of interest” after Hillary Clinton became the Democratic nominee, Bill Clinton blogged on Aug. 22. Both the expiring Clinton enterprise and the up-and-coming Concordia Summit illustrate a deep truth of human nature: Famous people like to spend time around other famous people. Unfamous people also like to spend time around famous people. So if you can assemble a critical mass of famous people and keep them in one place for long enough, you have a chance of igniting a powerful chain reaction of fame and charity. Another example of successful ignition: the World Economic Forum, which overstuffs the Swiss ski village of Davos each January.