Meeting the president is a pivotal moment for the superrich anywhere in the world. A look at various such meetings shows different moods and mannerisms of the superrich and presidents.

In South Korea, meetings between the superrich and the president are considered a political and business assembly accompanying a meal.

The president also invites the superrich based on their ranking ― such as the “top 20 businesses” ― rather than their field of business.

In 1996, former President Kim Young-sam invited the top 30 business entrepreneurs to the Blue House and held a dinner banquet. Kim had also hosted a breakfast meeting with the top four business entrepreneurs when he was president-elect.

Such formal meetings between the president and the superrich have become the norm, and continue even today. However, more lighthearted meetings have also been carried out.

Both former Presidents Kim Young-sam and Lee Myung-bak held a “standing tea time” with business tycoons in order to lighten up the mood that comes with formal meetings.

Former President Roh Moo-hyun notably held a meal meeting not in the Blue House, but in a restaurant in Hyoja-dong, Seoul. Heads of Korean companies such as Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG, Hanwha and Hyosung were seen sitting on the floor close to each other without shoes and ties, highlighting the more relaxed atmosphere.

Abroad, meetings between the president and the superrich are held in more informal settings. In February 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama and several tech entrepreneurs held a meeting at venture capitalist L. John Doerr’s house.

A photo captured the high-profile superrich such as Steve Jobs, Eric Schmidt, Mark Zuckerberg and many others bonding. The sight of multiple superrich individuals toasting at a home setting showed a laid-back mood.

In April 2011, Obama held a town hall meeting with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg at the Facebook headquarters. The two faced each other seated at a small round table surrounded by the audience, and Zuckerberg met with the president in jeans and sneakers, showing a no-frills meeting.

Tumblr founder David Karp showed off his meeting with Obama by doing a fist bump with the president and then having it uploaded on the White House official Tumblr sa an animated GIF. 

The moving fist bump image not only showed Tumblr’s most popular features but also displayed the confident and forward nature of a 20-something superrich.

By The Korea Herald Superrich Team (sangyj@heraldcorp.com)

Kwon Nam-keun, Hong Seung-wan, Sung Yeon-jin, Bae Ji-sook, Yoon Hyun-jong, Min Sang-seek, Kim Hyun-il, Sang Youn-joo