Bilderberg Group

A subject of much speculation, the Bilderberg Group is one of the more secret forums for high-level interaction by key business and political insiders from the principal nations of Europe and the United States. Formed in 1954 under the auspices of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, who hosted the first meeting at the Hôtel de Bilderberg near Arnhem, the group over time has served to promote collaboration between the European Union and the United States, including support for the North Atlantic Treaty alliance (NATO). Although claiming to have no formal charter, organization, or Web page, it has a chairman and a steering committee.

The Bilderberg conferences feature about 100 eminent financiers, corporate heads, government officials, media owners, intellectuals, and other political movers. The 4-day meetings are held once or twice a year, generally at out-of-the-way hotel and resort locations (always five-star) with strict security to keep away the uninvited. Camaraderie is created by all participants arriving without their spouses to live, talk, and dine together without being on the record. There is an unwritten rule that anyone attending a Bilderberg conference should be able to later, in a private capacity, contact other attendees, who over time form a virtual “who's who” of influence. Press coverage is discouraged, and participants are pledged not to repeat publicly what was said in the discussions. So despite the presence of many leading media figures over the years, very little is reported about these gatherings.

Ethical decision making and communication generally are enhanced by transparency and openness. So understandably, any largely autocratic and unaccountable means for those in the seat of power to meet clandestinely will give rise to concern. There are those who see the Bilderberg conferences as a type of secret society in which agreements are made to pull strings to clandestinely dictate government policies. In this respect, the Bildebergers are often grouped by conspiracy analysts with the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, the United Nations Organization, the Vatican Bank, and other entities. The argument is that they are part of an overt/covert so-called shadow government having interlocking connections with major business interests, media, educational foundations, think tanks, and other powerful organizations.

Unless one is an insider, it is hard to evaluate these negative claims about such elite groups. There is no doubt about their influence, but many proponents argue that meetings such as the Bildeberg conferences help build personal contact, promote understanding, and serve the public good.