Private jets descend on Sun Valley's invite-only 'summer camp for billionaires'

Each year, private jets take over the Friedman Memorial Airport for the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference.Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesThe Allen & Co. Sun Valley Conference kicks off on Tuesday as private jets touch down in the Idaho town.

Known as the "summer camp for billionaires," the summit attracts hundreds of media and tech titans.AI and media consolidation will likely be the hot topics at the off-the-record Sun Valley gathering.Billionaires and CEOs are sleeping off any lingering holiday weekend hangovers and boarding their private jets to camp.

The annual Allen & Co. Sun Valley Conference begins on Tuesday in Sun Valley, Idaho, marking the start of an invite-only summit known as the "summer camp for billionaires."Between 300 and 350 aircraft — more than four times the typical number — are expected to fly in and out of the Sun Valley Friedman Memorial Airport each day during the event, carrying wealthy personalities and powerful executives in the media and tech spaces.

Allen and Co.'s Sun Vally conference kicks off on Tuesday, July 7, 2026.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images"While the airport experiences a significant increase in activity, the coordination and procedures that have been developed over the years make the operation a well-oiled machine," Tim Burke, the airport's director, told Business Insider."

The airport can accommodate approximately 100 to 125 parked business jets before reaching full parking capacity," he added. "Once that capacity is reached, arriving aircraft may still drop off passengers but are then required to reposition to another airport for parking."As of Monday evening, several jets had already arrived in the sleepy resort town, which has a population of fewer than 1,800 full-time residents.

Most of the aircraft were linked to charter or fractional ownership operations such as NetJets, Flexjet, and Vista, popular choices given privacy concerns about jet tracking.Expected guests this year include many of the usual suspects, such as Amazon cofou