The biggest moguls from Hollywood and Silicon Valley have once again touched down in Sun Valley, Idaho for the annual Allen & Co. conference.
The conference, which is often referred to as the “summer camp for billionaires,” is a private, invite-only retreat that brings together executives across tech, media, and finance for networking outside of the public eye and has been a breeding ground for dealmaking for years. Case in point: Last year, it was where David Ellison talked to Bari Weiss about buying her The Free Press, which paved the way for Weiss’ position atop CBS News.
The latest gathering comes amid a transformational time for Hollywood, as the industry is shifting with a number of notable M&A deals, such as Paramount’s pending $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox’s pending $22 billion acquisition of Roku and Comcast’s planned spin off of NBCUniversal and Sky. Artificial intelligence has also sparked fear among creatives in Hollywood as studio executives are looking at ways to integrate the technology into the production process for films and TV.
Here’s a list of some of the major media, entertainment and tech heavyweights in attendance who have been spotted so far:
Disney’s Josh D’Amaro and Bob Iger
Fresh off becoming Disney’s new CEO, Josh D’Amaro has joined his predecessor Bob Iger in Sun Valley.
The pair’s appearance notably comes after Disney’s $1 billion partnership with OpenAI collapsed following Sora’s shutdown. However, the company has previously said it would “continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators.”
As for large scale M&A, CFO Hugh Johnston has dismissed the possibility, noting that they “like the hand that we have.” But it remains to be seen how willing D’Amaro will be fine with staying on the sidelines given the rapidly changing landscape.
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner
Speaking of Disney, Iger’s predecessor Michael Eisner has also arrived for the Allen & Co. conference and is a regular attendee at the annual event. Last year, his foundation donated $4 million to the Aspen Institute to help fund a fellowship aimed at creating the next generation of arts leaders.
Comcast Co-CEOs Brian Roberts and Mike Cavanagh
Just days after revealing plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky, Comcast co-CEOs Brian Roberts and Mike Cavanagh made the trek to Idaho.
The pair have publicly denied that the split is aimed at drumming up sale interest for NBCUniversal and said the company would “build and invest for growth” following the spinoff. But Wall Street is not fully convinced and a lot can still change over the next 12 months as they prepare for the separation.
Comcast will continue to have an ownership stake of up to 19.9% in NBCU/Sky for at least one year following the separation and Roberts has said he would remain involved with both companies as they move into their next chapters.
The planned spin off of NBCU comes after Comcast spun off cable networks USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel as well as digital assets Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes and GolfNow into a new company called Versant in January, which is led by Mark Lazarus.
Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and the streamer’s CFO Spencer Neumann have also made it to the Sun Valley Lodge, which comes after its $83 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets fell apart after they declined to match a rival $110 billion bid from David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance.
In the weeks that followed, Wall Street has floated Netflix as a potential suitor for a number of assets, such as Lionsgate, Imax and Roku, though the company has denied having interest in any of them.
However, leadership has acknowledged that the WBD bidding war allowed it to “build our M&A muscle” and has not ruled out taking a look at mergers and acquisitions that can help the company achieve its long-term goals. One notable M&A deal the streamer made this year was an acquisition of Ben Affleck’s AI startup InterPositive in a deal valued at up to $600 million.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav
And it wouldn’t be a Sun Valley conference without Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who fielded bids from Comcast, Netflix and Paramount after initially intending to split WBD’s studio and streaming business from its linear networks business.
Though Paramount ultimately came out the victor, the merger still has regulatory hurdles left to clear in Europe and the United Kingdom, as well as the threat of a potential legal challenge from a group of U.S. state attorneys general. On Wednesday, Oregon AG Dan Rayfield said he was seeking a court order to delay the Paramount-WBD deal at least 60 days as his office seeks records related to the merger.
In the event the transaction does not close by Sept. 30, WBD shareholders will receive a 25 cent per share “ticking fee” for each quarter until closing. In the event that the deal does not close at all due to regulatory matters, Paramount will pay WBD a $7 billion termination fee.
People Incorporated Chairman Barry Diller
Barry Diller has also returned to Sun Valley after proposing an $18 billion takeover of MGM Resorts International. People Incorporated, which was rebranded from IAC earlier this year, currently owns 26.1% of MGM’s outstanding common stock and is looking to purchase the remainder for $48.30 per share.
Diller has also been open about his interest in acquiring CNN should it ever come up for sale, though the Ellison family is expected to be the network’s next owner following the closing of the Paramount-WBD merger, which is on track to be completed by the end of the third quarter.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan
While YouTube has not made any large-scale M&A moves, chief executive Neal Mohan’s appearance is notable, given the fact that the Alphabet-owned video platform has consistently dominated in Nielsen’s monthly Gauge reports measuring TV viewership.
The company has also expanded its Primetime Channels offering with the addition of Peacock, HBO Max, Paramount+ and Fox One and has unveiled plans for 10 skinny bundles focused on sports, news and entertainment.
Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick
Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who oversaw the game publisher’s $69 billion sale to Xbox parent Microsoft, is also a returning Sun Valley attendee, though he has not taken on another role in the C-suite.
The tech giant notably made headlines for a restructuring at Xbox that will cut a total of 4,800 jobs and see four of its gaming studios transition to operate under new management.
K5 Global’s Michael Kives
Michael Kives, a former CAA agent who represented talent including Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Katy Perry, and Kate Hudson, as well as global leaders Mikhail Gorbachev and Warren Buffett, is the co-founder and managing partner of the private investment firm K5 Global, which focuses on partnering with founders across technology, media, and consumer businesses.
He is an advisor to more than 20 startups and innovative companies and serves on the boards of Yahoo, 818 Tequila, Khloud Foods, and Ari Emanuel’s Mari Group. He has also been an early investor in companies including SpaceX, Anduril and HistoSonics.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has arrived in Sun Valley after brokering new 3-year media rights deals with ESPN, Netflix and NBCUniversal in November.
The agreement, which covers the 2026-2028 baseball seasons, sees the league’s longstanding relationship with ESPN reach 39 consecutive seasons, while NBC returns to regularly airing games on its broadcast network for the first time in 26 years. Netflix has also expanded its engagement with the MLB from documentaries to live baseball event coverage for the first time.
In addition to ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix, the MLB continues to partner with Fox/FS1, which remains the home of the World Series, League Championship and Division Series, All-Star Game, regular season games primarily on Saturdays, World Baseball Classic and special event games.
TBS also continues to be the home of League Championship and Division Series telecasts, plus regular season games on Tuesday nights, while Apple TV continues to stream “Friday Night Baseball” doubleheaders throughout the regular season. MLB Network also continues to air live games, including its “Showcase” package and its Emmy Award-winning studio shows.
Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer
Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, who runs the company with co-founder Ron Howard, is a regular attendee of Sun Valley. His arrival comes as Imagine and Universal are developing a sequel to their 2000 adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” with Jim Carrey in talks to return.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Chairman Bret Taylor
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and chairman Bret Taylor also touched down in Idaho following acquisitions of open source Python tool developer Astral in March and the tech talk show TBPN in April.
It also reached a $1 billion deal with Disney for Sora to license its characters and to create curated AI-generated videos for Disney+. However, that deal would collapse after OpenAI said that it would shut down Sora and shift its priorities elsewhere.
And in 2025, OpenAI agreed to acquire former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive’s AI devices startup io in a deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion.
Sheryl Sandberg
OpenAI’s Altman and Taylor aren’t the only tech titans to make it to this year’s Allen & Co. conference, with former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg arriving in Sun Valley.
Since stepping down from Meta’s board in 2024, Sandberg worked on the documentary “Screams Before Silence,” in which she interviewed female survivors who were sexually abused by members of Hamas on Oct. 7.
