Davos updates: Trump speech looms as Greenland threats fuel global tension
A sniper perched on a roof looks through binoculars at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos.
Trump's threats against Greenland and backlash from world leaders have seized the spotlight at Davos 2026.

Harun Ozalp/Anadolu via Getty Images

It's all eyes on President Trump at Davos.

Business Insider will be in the room when he speaks. We'll share real-time updates on what he says and how World Economic Forum attendees react.

Follow along here for real-time updates.

Millionaires ask leaders at Davos to tax the rich
Mark Ruffalo attends the AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 09, 2026, in Los Angeles, California.
Mark Ruffalo is one of the nearly 400 wealthy people who co-signed an open letter to leaders gathering at Davos, asking them to tax the rich.

Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI

Tax us — that's the message from nearly 400 wealthy people, who've signed an open letter addressed to the leaders gathering at Davos.

The letter's co-signees called out a "handful of global oligarchs with extreme wealth," accusing them of harming society as a whole across governance, tech, innovation, and the environment.

The solution, per the letter, comes down to one thing — taxing the superrich.

Signatories include the actor Mark Ruffalo, film producer and activist Abigail Disney, and musician Brian Eno.

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We now have an ETA on Trump
US President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One en route to Switzerland on January 20, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Trump is traveling to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum.
Air Force One had to make a U-turn, but Donald Trump's on his way.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

"I believe President Trump is going to be about 3 hours late," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a morning presser. "I haven't seen the updated schedule."

ICYMI: Trump had to switch planes after an electrical fault was detected on board Air Force One.

The risk and opportunity in real estate
David Steinbach, Global Chief Investment Officer, Hines, speaks during a panel at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on May 7, 2024.
David Steinbach of Hines.

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

David Steinbach, Hines' global chief investment officer, didn't mince words when describing the overall real-estate environment.

"It's been a really bad few years, honestly," Steinbach told me. "Really beginning in 2022."

Rising geopolitical tensions and the siloing of regions can make the environment even trickier. Especially for a company with over $90 billion of assets across 30 countries. Still, Steinbach told me that Hines raised about 50% more discretionary capital year over year in 2025.

"There's a risk and opportunity, right? The risk is it's now different. And that's probably not changing anytime soon," Steinbach said. "The opportunity is a lot needs to be built now, because you've got supply chains that need to get re-looked. You got very directive investments in-country."

"That's creating a lot of demand as well," Steinbach added.

The Trump show aside, other big business leaders will get some airtime on Wednesday

On the schedule for Wednesday: Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.

A minor bump in the road
United States President Donald Trump speaks to the press before he departs the White House en route to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF),
President Donald Trump's been delayed en-route to Davos.

Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images

Trump ran into some travel trouble en route to Davos late Tuesday. He was forced to switch from Air Force One to a backup plane after an electrical fault was detected on board. Flight maps show Air Force One making a U-turn over the waters off Long Island, then landing back in Washington, D.C.

The president is now back on the road and on his way to Switzerland.

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Protests in Zurich ahead of Trump's arrival
Protesters dressed up as US President Donald Trump and police wait for the start of a demonstration against the President and the Annual Meeting of the World Economy Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026.
Protests against Trump have erupted in Davos.

AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

The police in Zurich deployed a water cannon after anti-Trump protests got chaotic, according to multiple reports from local media outlets.

Videos from the scene showed protesters holding up banners, including one that read: "TRUMP NOT WELCOME."

Zurich is a two-hour drive from Davos. It's likely that the president will face much less resistance at the ski resort, where executives are clamoring to meet him.

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