The Hidden History of Sun Valley, the Mountain Retreat of Moguls and Icons
For nearly 90 years, some of the world’s most prominent figures in business and media have made the trek to Sun Valley, an idyllic ski resort nestled in the hills of Idaho. Best known as the site of the annual Allen & Company conference—a mogul-packed gathering for dealmaking and networking—the town has also long drawn Hollywood icons, literary luminaries and adventure-seeking visitors.
These days, many guests arrive via private jet, landing at nearby Friedman Memorial Airport. But Sun Valley’s story begins not with planes, but trains. In the early 1930s, W. Averell Harriman, then chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad, set out to transform the area—a once-sleepy mining town known for lead and silver—into America’s first luxury ski resort.
Eager to create a remote and exclusive destination that would boost train travel among affluent Americans, Harriman tapped Count Felix von Schaffgotsch, an Austrian nobleman and banker, to scout potential sites. In 1936, von Schaffgotsch discovered Sun Valley. “This combines more delightful features than any place I have ever seen in Switzerland, Austria or the U.S. for a winter resort,” he wrote in a wire to Harriman.
The Sun Valley Lodge, a four-story building that cost $1.5 million to build, opened for business a year later—as did the region’s history of attracting big names to its snowy slopes and scenic trails. Hollywood stars like Clark Gable, Ingrid Bergman and Marilyn Monroe all came flocking.
The lodge, which boasts starting rates of $519, “has been at the heart of it all since the very beginning,” Tayt Knowles, director of sales at the resort, told Observer. “The lodge’s history, combined with its thoughtful modern updates, continues to draw guests who are looking for a truly unique and timeless mountain experience.”
One of the town’s most prominent fans was Ernest Hemingway, who first visited Sun Valley in 1939 and fell in love with the resort. He wrote parts of his 1940 novel, For Whom the Bells Toll, in the Sun Valley Lodge—which offers a “Celebrity Suite” dedicated to the author—and spent the last years of his life in the adjacent town of Ketchum.
Given its ties to one of America’s most acclaimed writers, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Sun Valley for three decades has been home to the annual Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, which brings famed authors to resort each July and attracts thousands of attendees. Other events hosted by the resort town include retreats, corporate meetings and gatherings dedicated to photography, film, music and dance.
“Over the years, we’ve continued to invest in our event spaces and amenities, including recent renovations to conference facilities, lodging and dining,” said Knowles, who noted that the resort features “state-of-the-art meeting rooms and flexible spaces that can accommodate everything from intimate retreats to large-scale summits.”
Sun Valley’s most well-known conference also happens to be the one shrouded in the most secrecy. Since 1983, investment firm Allen & Co. has gathered tech executives, media titans and politicians for an exclusive summer event filled with private lectures and behind-closed-doors meetings. While little is known about the conference’s inner workings, it has played a role in major deals, including Jeff Bezos’ purchase of The Washington Post, The Walt Disney Company’s merger with ABC and Verizon’s acquisition of AOL.
Allen & Co. itself is equally publicity-shy, with no official website. The New York-based firm has been family-run for more than a century and is currently led by Herbert Allen III.
The firm’s Sun Valley conference wasn’t always a hot ticket—according to Fortune, organizers had to plead with invitees to attend its inaugural edition. Today, landing a spot on the guest list is a coveted milestone for some of the world’s wealthiest executives, with regular attendees including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch.
Sun Valley’s events have a “significant ripple effect” on the broader Wood River Valley economy, according to Knowles. In addition to boosting business for restaurants, shops and transportation services, they support year-round employment and promote long-term local investment.
The resort doesn’t “just host events—we create moments that bring people closer,” said Knowles. “In the heart of the mountains, surrounded by natural beauty and timeless charm, every gathering becomes something more: a shared story, a spark of inspiration, a lasting bond.”
