We took a helicopter to dinner at the Rockefeller Estate with the most powerful business players you’ve never heard of
Sarah Jacobs
Ankur Jain, founder and chairman of Kairos Society.
Last Thursday evening, some of the world’s most innovative minds joined each other for dinner at one of the country’s most storied old-money estates.
The dinner was held by the Kairos Society, an elite group of young business entrepreneurs working to solve global issues, as part of its annual Global Summit. The summit brings together leaders from across industries — from Amazon CTO Werner Vogels to Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides — for a three-day event filled with discussion on how to solve market failures in industries like social security and retirement, affordable access to healthcare, and fake news, among others.
Guests were helicoptered from Manhattan to Tarrytown, New York, to kick off the weekend with a dinner at the 3,500-acre Rockefeller Estate. Business Insider was invited to cover the event — here’s what we saw.
Guests gathered inside a lounge belonging to on-demand helicopter startup Blade, which flew guests north of Manhattan toward the Rockefeller Estate.
We were escorted into our six-seat helicopter, and soon we were flying high over the Hudson River.
When we landed at the heliport, guests were kindly greeted by Kairos Society members and transferred to luxury shuttles.
People were already busy networking during our ride. Guests in my van included Art.sy CEO and founder Carter Cleveland, NYU professor Gary Marcus, and Forbes senior editor Steven Bertoni.
The dinner party was hosted in the Rockefeller Estate’s “Playhouse,” where large family parties have been hosted for years.
It has its own bowling alley …
… and gorgeous outdoor gardens.
Right when we arrived, drinks were already being poured, and guests greeted each other while snacking on hors d’oeuvres.
Other notable guests included Joseph Gordon-Levitt …
… Russell Simmons, who was there representing his company Rush Communications …
… as well as Bobbi Brown, founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics and, most recently, a creative consultant at Lord & Taylor.
Kairos Society is a highly successful group. Members have included Tim
Hwang of Fiscal Note, Riley Ennis of Freenome, Neil Parikh of Casper, and Kayvon Beykpour of Periscope.
The top 25 Kairos companies have raised a total of more than $550 million in investment capital over the past four years, and they’re collectively valued at over $3 billion.
Guests flew in from more than 50 countries to attend the summit.
Tables were set and seats were assigned. I sat next to Sander Schimmelpenninck, editor-in-chief of Quote magazine, and Delta Air Lines’ Haroon Ishrak. Delta is a supporter of Kairos and offers flight vouchers to entrepreneurs.
“We believe the next generation of entrepreneurs have the potential to innovate where
traditional industries and governments have failed,” said Ankur Jain, the founder and chairman of Kairos Society, before dinner was served.
Mark Rockefeller, a fourth-generation member of the Rockefeller family and chairman and CEO of Legacy Connect, was also there to greet guests and voice his support of the society.
Delicious food was served, including a baby kale salad, steak, and tuna.
Between dishes, entrepreneurs stood up and introduced their companies.
After dessert, guests continued to socialize.
The evening slowly wrapped up and while stragglers stayed to chat, others piled back into the shuttles and headed to Manhattan for the long weekend of interactive panels and sessions.
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