LOS ANGELES: They come from all over the world — the richest, most powerful and influential magnates in the world — and for a week they fish, bike, ride and indulge in their favourite sports: dealmaking and networking.

It happens every year in the tony Idaho retreat of Sun Valley, where since 1983 the investment bank Allen & Co., which specializes in the media industry, organizes a confab for its most famous clients.

This week’s gathering saw a decidedly pot-bellied Bill Gates attend morning panel discussions and presentations from companies such as Viacom, Wal-Mart and Yahoo.

Afterwards, along with some 200 other moguls and their families such as Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Michael Eisner, Viacom Inc. Chairman Sumner Redstone, InterActive Corp.’s Barry Diller and billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the day was open for hayrides, fly fishing, white water rafting tennis, ice skating, horseriding and cycling.

Shopping is also a big item. Local fashion boutiques say the annual meeting is like Christmas come early.

Other famous names attending include Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Sydney Pollack and Candice Bergen. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan are there, so are DreamWorks Studio principals Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. Former AOL Time Warner chairman Steve Case flew in, so did executives from Intel, Yahoo Inc., Google Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Computer Inc.

Security is as tight, with a contingent of cops flying in from New York City. On the tarmac of the tiny Friedman Memorial Airport, more than 70 private jets were parked waiting for their owners.

For high powered executives, the gathering is one of the few places where they can unwind and discuss business informally with other masters of the universe. The gathering is reported to cost the investment bank at least $10 million.—dpa