Hollywood has Sundance. Wall Street has Davos. Since its beginning in 1971, the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum has witnessed many changes -- from the fall of the Berlin wall to start of the Euro. One thing, however, remains consistent. The world's most influential business, political, and intellectual leaders converge on the alpine retreat in a country known for its banks, mountains, chocolates, and watches.

Click ahead for a who's who of the rich and famous who came to see and be seen at the 2013 annual meeting of this global forum.

By CNBC.com
Posted 25 January 2013

Kicking off the first night of the annual meeting, the actress and founder of Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project spoke at the Crystal Award Ceremony, which honors artists who have used their talent to improve the state of the world.

Of the many forums and debates offered during the 5-day event, one-on-one sessions are popular. Here, economist Larry Summers of Harvard University addresses the audience during "An Insight, An Idea with Lawrence Summers," which dealt with the future of the American public sector.

This year's meeting saw more mainstream exposure thanks to social media, as well as the Huffington Post's Arianna Huffington, who actively wrote and tweeted about her experience. She spoke during a session called, "Will Washington Work?"

No stranger to the annual meeting, professional doomsayer Nouriel Roubini, professor of economics and international business at NYU's Stern School of Business, spoke during "Global Leadership in Transition" and the forum debate "The Rise of Unconventional Monetary Policy - Reinforcing Critical Systems."

Bill Gates, along with David Cameron, Ban Ki-moon, and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, spoke at the "Global Development Outlook," setting the agenda for the next Millennium Development Goals.

"A hacker to me is someone creative who does wonderful things," said scientist and founder of the World Wide Web Foundation, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, during "An Insight, an Idea with Tim Berners-Lee."

One of most recognizable female faces in business, Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, lambasted managers for gender stereotypes in the workplace during the panel discussion, "Women in Economic Decision-making."

One of the most anticipated speakers at Davos was Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, who discussed monetization of apps on mobile devices.

At 82, George Soros made the trek to Davos to issue a warning for turbulent times ahead despite the good news of the euro zone's ability to avoid an all-out financial crisis, at least so far.