President Bill Clinton's star-wattage was on full display as details were released of participants in his foundation's Clinton Global Initiative, set for later this month.
The event brings together global leaders of business and commerce – even a genuine rock star in U2's Bono – who will gather at the New York event,
Politico reported.
On the roster thus far: President Barack Obama, Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, Bill and Melinda Gates, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. They are expected to join nearly a thousand other participants to discuss global economic, health, energy and other key issues.
Also expected isHillary Clinton, a likely 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, who joined her husband's Manhattan-based non-profit foundation as a co-leader last month.
While the meeting will shine a spotlight on the former president's global goals, it's also seen as an impressive springboard for the former first lady to coalesce a future political message, observers note.
"I think having a place such as this for a platform gives her a great launching pad into 2016,” former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told Politico. "It gives her, quite frankly, a great place with which to create or begin to create the message she would use should she decide to run."