Many will arrive on the Magic Mountain this week much richer than they were a year ago. The S&P 500 soared 23 percent last year, boosted by tech and artificial intelligence stocks. High-profile financiers like Verizon’s Hans Vestberg and Goldman’s David Solomon (both of whom are expected in Davos) were also in the crowd cheering on Trump as he rang the opening bell on Wall Street last month.
And even as Trump threatens to slap massive tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada and Europe, the Davos crowd will be popping the Champagne corks at many of the off-piste dinners scheduled to take place this week over his pledge to cut taxes and slash regulation.
Still, not everyone here is convinced by the stock market frenzy that has accelerated since Trump’s win in November.
Financier Anthony Scaramucci, a Davos regular who spent an ill-fated 10 days as White House communications director during the first Trump presidency, said it would take time to determine whether his old boss can deliver for Wall Street.
“Superficially, Trump is good for business. Trump literally made most of his decisions in his first term through the prism of the stock market,” Scaramucci told POLITICO in an interview. “But if you tell me that he’s going to take Greenland, or deploy forces into Panama, or see if he can annex Canada — this causes instability,” he added.
“It makes people question the judgment of the American government and the American people, and I think that has negative consequences — including on the markets.”