Event: World Economic Forum member meeting
Location: Usually held in Davos, Switzerland
Frequency: Annual
Contact: 011-41-22-869-1212, www.weforum.org
The most prestigious of the economic confabs, the World Economic Forum member meeting explores imbalances in geopolitics, the international economy, and environmental issues. Luminaries from many different fields—business, politics, religion, labor, and NGOs—make up the roster of attendees, which has included Dell chairman Michael Dell, Coca-Cola C.E.O. Neville Isdell, Angelina Jolie, and Bono. The real action, though, takes place at the parties and informal meetings surrounding the main event.

Event: Allen & Company Sun Valley conference  
Location: Sun Valley, Idaho
Frequency: Annual
Contact: 212-832-8000
This by-invitation-only, four-day bash is hosted by investment bank Allen & Company. Luminaries from business, politics, and entertainment—think names such as Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Warren Buffett—attend every year to conceive deals (like former Disney C.E.O. Michael Eisner’s acquisition of ABC and the Family Channel, and Chad Hurley’s $1 billion valuation of YouTube) and partake in discussions about media and technology.  

Event: Clinton Global Initiative   
Location: New York, NY
Frequency: Annual
Contact: 212-397-2255, www.clintonglobalinitiative.org
This conference addresses poverty, climate change, global health, and education with a select but diverse group that has included Tony Blair, Condoleezza Rice, Rupert Murdoch, and Lance Armstrong. All participants must make “commitments” (read: pledges) to relevant causes, such as Virgin Group C.E.O. Sir Richard Branson’s 10-year, $3 billion commitment to renewable energy initiatives.

Event: Aspen Ideas Festival
Location: Aspen, Colorado
Frequency: Annual
Contact: 970-544-7960, www.aspeninstitute.org
The nonpartisan Aspen Institute sponsors seminars, policy programs, and conferences throughout the year, but the weeklong Ideas Festival, coproduced by the Atlantic, is its premiere gathering. Celebs such as Jeff Bezos, Toni Morrison, and Hillary Clinton choose from discussion "tracks" including Global Dynamics, the American Experience, Art & Culture, and Media & Community.

Event: Technology Entertainment Design conference
Location: Monterey, California
Frequency: Annual
Contact: 212-346-9333, www.ted.com
The inaugural T.E.D. conference, in 1984, featured one of the first public demos of the Macintosh computer. Since then, forward-thinkers like Sir Richard Branson and Frank Gehry convene each year with about a thousand other leaders from an array of fields to discuss technological and philosophical innovations.

Event: World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund spring meetings
Location: Washington, D.C.
Frequency: Annual
Contact: 202-473-1000, www.worldbank.org, 202-623-7000, www.imf.org
Non-governmental organizations, research centers, government officials, and international business leaders dodge globalization protesters and occasional riots in order to attend this conference. Meetings focus on international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and the granting of loans to developing countries.