GULF IN THE ALPS

Scaramucci sees growing Saudi effort at Davos to court investors

SkyBridge Capital founder, a veteran of 17 WEF summits, says the kingdom is sending a message with its pop-up pavillions on the Davos Promenade

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

DAVOS, Switzerland – Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital and record-holder for shortest tenure as White House spokesman, is all over town – from surveying Saudi Arabia’s pop-up NEOM exhibition to throwing his own wine-tasting soiree.

Speaking to The Circuit after one of multiple speaking engagements, “The Mooch” said his secret to success in 17 years of coming to Davos is “Never be afraid to crash a party.”

Scaramucci held his own 12th annual SkyBridge Wine Party on Tuesday night with a raucous crowd squeezing into the Hotel Europe Tonic Piano Bar.

The 60-year-old financier also said he was impressed with the Saudi kingdom’s efforts to establish its presence at Davos, with Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih addressing a breakfast crowd this morning and several cabinet members appearing on the conference’s main stage in the Davos Congress Center.

The three Davos Promenade stores that NEOM rented for the week to show off its futuristic $500 milliion mega-city project, as well as pop-ups down the street taken by Saudi Digital and the ancient desert city of AlUla, carried an unmistakable message, he said.

A veteran participant in Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative, known as “Davos in the Desert,” Scaramucci said the kingdom is sending a message.

The Saudis are saying, “Our country’s open for business. We want to integrate with the democracies. We have a beautiful country and you should feel safe in our country,” Scaramucci said, adding “I think this is part of a normalization process in general, and eventually with the State of Israel.”