Larry Fink ends WEF in Davos with a quote from Elon Musk: It is better to be an optimist and wrong, than being …

The five-day annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) ended on Friday, January 23. As many as 64 heads of state or government attended the event at Davos, Switzerland. The 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum convened nearly 3,000 leaders from government, business, civil society and academia under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue”, against the most complex geopolitical backdrop in decades.In the closing remarks, Larry Fink, Interim Co-Chair, World Economic Forum, and CEO, BlackRock, quoted Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “It’s better for your quality of life to be an optimist who’s wrong than a pessimist who’s right,” said Fink, quoting Musk. Elon Musk marked his debut at WEF 2026 with a critique of US solar tariffs and aggressive targets for Tesla, including humanoid robot sales next year, as well as flagging European approval for self-driving tech within weeks. After years of describing the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting as elitist, unaccountable and disconnected from ordinary people, the world’s richest man was interviewed by Larry Fink. The BlackRock CEO expressed his admiration for Musk at the start of the wide-ranging discussion, which covered the future of robots and AI, the economic benefits of reusable rockets and Musk’s childhood fascination with science fiction.As per WEF 2026 release, the event was attended by close to 3,000 leaders from across regions, sectors and generations from 130 countries, including a record 400 top political leaders, a majority of G7 leaders, close to 830 of the world’s top CEOs and chairs, and almost 80 leading unicorns and technology pioneers. “This is a moment of uncertainty, but also possibility; not a moment to retreat, but a moment to engage,” WEF President and CEO Borge Brende said at the closing session.“This year, Davos has reached a new level. Not only was it the intended platform for dialogue, but it also marked turning points and drove decisions,” WEF’s Interim Co-Chair and Roche Holding Vice Chairman Andre Hoffmann said.

Tech leaders at WEF 2026

AI and emerging technologies are fundamentally transforming every industry sector and the global labour market, driving profound changes in skill requirements and entire professions across both advanced and emerging economies. CEOs across regions highlighted practical strategies for deploying AI on complex, mission-critical tasks and for driving long-term transformation, looking at actionable insights on how to redesign capabilities, decision-making and operating models to unlock AI’s full enterprise value.“I would advocate for the developing countries: build your infrastructure, get engaged in AI and recognize that AI is likely to close the technology divide,” said Jensen Huang, Chief Executive Officer, Nvidia.“Right now, the Zeitgeist is a little bit about the admiration for AI in its abstract form or as a technology,” said Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft. “But, I think we as a global community have to get to a point where we’re using this to do something useful that changes the outcomes of people and communities and countries and industries.”“The capability overhang [of AI] is massive,” said Sarah Friar, Chief Financial Officer, Open AI OpCo. “Even if models [did not improve at all] from today, there is still so much productivity to be had just with what’s in people’s hands.”