Power Brokers Meet at Private Renaissance Weekend 'Ideas Festival'

Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
June 20, 2012

Upon returning to South Carolina after attending the 2012 Bilderberg Protest held in Chantilly, Virginia, I began using the “what were you doing in Virginia” question to my advantage. For as long as the novelty of my trip lasted (which wasn’t long), I attempted to use the generic curiosity of others as an educational program; a perfect opportunity to spread awareness of the Bilderberg Group and its relevance to current world affairs.

What surprised me, however, was that several of the more politically active individuals I spoke to actually began telling me about yet another annual meeting of power brokers that takes place in my own state, one which I had never heard of. This was particularly surprising considering the proximity of the meetings and the fact that they have been taking place for well over thirty years.

What they were talking about was the annual Renaissance Weekend.

The Renaissance Weekend began in 1981 and was founded by Philip and Linda LeSourd Lader. It is a private, invitation-only gathering of a relatively large number of high- to low-level players in U.S. politics. The event takes place over an entire weekend and is usually held in eloquent resorts in Charleston, South Carolina.

In recent years, the conference has developed branches in other locations such as Aspen, Co, Santa Monica, CA, Monterey, CA, Napa, CA, and Jackson Hole, WY.


The official website for the Renaissance Weekend describes the event as follows:

Renaissance Weekends® — 'the grand-daddy of ideas festivals" — build bridges among innovative leaders of all ages, with exceptionally diverse perspectives. Unusually candid, the programs are always provocative, fueled by a unique interaction of thought-leaders, trend-setters and authorities.

The attendees are then described in this manner:

CEOs, venture capitalists & entrepreneurs, Nobel laureates & Pulitzer Prize-winners, artists, educators & scientists, astronauts & Olympians, judges, diplomats, social entrepreneurs & non-profit leaders, change-makers of Silicon Valley, Hollywood, Wall Street & Main Street, professors & priests, Republicans, Democrats & Independents.

To be clear, Renaissance Weekends are not Bilderberg. This much can be seen by thefact that the overwhelming majority of the participants are Americans, and also that the organizers are quite open about the conference and who attends it. One can even visit the Illustrative List of Past Participants on the official website to get a sense of who is attending the event, along with pictures and a brief qualification listing for each person.

Indeed, the sheer amount of people attending the conference precludes the cloud of secrecy that surrounds confabs like Bilderberg. Not only that, but the levels of “true power brokers” taking part in Renaissance Weekends is much lower than that of other “private” meetings.

Although the meetings are both closed to the public, and access is granted by invitation only, many low-level politicians, scientists, CEOs, bankers, and academics, mostly of the more privileged class of the general population are allowed in. Thus, it is apparent that one need not be part of any conspiracy to be invited to the Renaissance Weekend.

However, the conference is not merely a gathering of proficient high school students either. A quick look at the Participants List reveals that much.

Indeed, considering the individuals who were instrumental in founding the Renaissance Weekend, we should not be eager to dismiss the event as nothing more than entertainment.

Philip Lader and his wife Linda LeSourd Lader both have some interesting insideconnections of their own.

Philip Lader, for instance, has been the U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James, Chairman of the WPP Group, Senior Advisor to Morgan Stanley, and a Partner in the Nelson Mullins Law Firm. Most notably, he is Vice Chairman of the RAND Corporation and serves on the boards of Marathon Oil, RusAl, Lloyds of London, and AES Corporations. Lader is also on the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Council. He is a member of the Campaign for American Leadership in the Middle East, Council of American Ambassadors, the Pilgrims Society, and the Council on Foreign Relations. Lader was also the former President of the Sea Pines Company and the Executive Vice President of Sir James Goldsmith’s US holdings.

Philip Lader’s wife, Linda LeSourd Lader, is a trustee of the Tony Blair Foundation and Communities in Schools. She has also served on the board of Habitat for Humanity International, International Justice Mission, and Harvard Divinity School’s Center for the Study of Values in Public Life. She also assisted with “the White House liaison to American communities of faith” and served as an advisor to the President on issues of religion in American culture. Lader was educated at Yale Divinity School where she became a Fellow at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture.

It should be noted, however, that a large amount of the attendees to the Renaissance Weekend do not have biographies anything close to that of the Laders or the Clintons who also attend these functions. Indeed, many participants have no real official qualifications at all and many of them bring their entire family along as a “children’s program,” Camp Renaissance, is run simultaneous to the adult programs. Teenagers are also welcome.

College students can also be invited and are encouraged to blend in to the full program schedule with the other more select guests.

With this in mind, and as I have mentioned earlier, Renaissance Weekend is obviously no Bilderberg. Yet it is no mere educational conference either. What Renaissance does appear to be is a mix between the higher level worker bees of the true power brokers in society with mid- and low-level agents of the system.

More importantly, Renaissance may serve as a recruiting ground for future agents of the system, whether on a long-term or temporary basis. By allowing seasoned globalist operatives to mingle with state or local level ladder climbers, as well as students and academics with high aspirations, those individuals who express desire to manifest their potential within globalist systems are able to be identified for future grooming.

Thus, Rennaissance can be considered a possible farm team of the general public for the globalist elite which functions in addition to the more traditional methods already in place.

Regardless of the direct influence that discussions at Renaissance have on world affairs, the conference stands as yet another “private” event made up of elites, government officials, financiers, corporate operatives, and academics that meet largely in secret to discuss public policy and other relevant issues outside of the eye of those they have been “elected” to serve.

But, while members of the public are often invited (after having been vetted), we cannot be so naïve to think that the real discussions of Renaissance take place in the conference halls or in front of large audiences of eager and wide-eyed serfs.

Click HERE for a schedule of upcoming weekends.

Read other articles by Brandon Turbeville here.

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Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Mullins, South Carolina. He has a Bachelor's Degree from Francis Marion University and is the author of three books, Codex Alimentarius -- The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies, and Five Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident. Turbeville has published over one hundred articles dealing with a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbeville is available for podcast, radio, and TV interviews. Please contact us at activistpost (at) gmail.com.