Richard Attias has spent decades bringing powerful people together, from the World Economic Forum to Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative, widely known as "Davos in the Desert". Now, as war and spending cuts threaten the events empire he built from the kingdom, the 66-year-old appears unfazed.
"I am an old fox now, so I went through so many challenges in the past 40 years," Attias said. "It's part of the job. It's sometimes disappointing but it's not like the end of the world." First, the Middle East conflict upended plans for an initial public offering of his events business. Then, this week, the 10th edition of the Future Investment Initiative was postponed to next year after attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which have killed more than 20 people and paralysed Riyadh's international airport.
Attias brushed off the idea that investors would be deterred. "You have long-term leadership, long-term stability, politically, which is the main parameter for investors," he said. He has also launched a boutique consultancy, North Street Advisory, aimed at helping global leaders diversify their economies, attract foreign investment and boost digital inclusion. Sunil John, a Dubai-based adviser at Stagwell, described Attias as a "one-of-a-kind entrepreneur" with a bulging Rolodex of global leaders. Others said he could be "difficult" and sometimes harboured "paranoia" about rivals.
Attias is no stranger to setbacks. In 2004 his affair with Cécilia Sarkozy, wife of then French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy, was splashed across gossip magazines. She later married Attias in 2008, after becoming France's first lady. The scandal overshadowed his work corralling leaders to the WEF's annual meeting in Davos, and he eventually quit Publicis. His time in New York also brought contact with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing