Microsoft and McKinsey pay up to $1 million each to back Donald Trump’s Davos hub

Microsoft and McKinsey are among the US companies paying up to $1 million (CHF790,000) each to sponsor a Davos venue that will serve as a base for US government officials during President Donald Trump’s trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) later this month. Paying to back the venue, housed in a small church in the Swiss ski resort, would give big companies the opportunity to “support the US delegation in Davos” and get their brand in front of “global decision makers”, according to a website set up for the so-called USA House. Microsoft, McKinsey and cryptocurrency firm Ripple are among the companies that have signed up as sponsors, ahead of Trump’s first in-person appearance at Davos in six years. JPMorgan Chase has also been approached to act as a sponsor. The forum, which has happened in Davos since 1971, has long run alongside an informal “house” system whereby countries and corporations independently hire out local shops and hotels to convert into venues where they can host ...