Exploring art is a great way to meet unexpected people out on the playa.Aly Weisman/Business InsiderAmong the 70,000 or so people who will make the trip to Black Rock City, Nevada, this weekend for the start of Burning Man will be some of the most influential people in Silicon Valley.Â
Every year, some of tech's top execs join the annual festival, dressing in shiny costumes and exploring the art installations just like everyone else.Â
The unwritten rules of the festival encourage anonymity and privacy. But the attendance of some of the CEOs and founders has been revealed by one of their enthusiastic peers on Medium. And many members of the tech elite have found their time on the playa â Burning Man speak for the dusty dry lake bed where the festival takes place â so life-changing that they couldn't help but speak about it publicly.
While nicknames and creative costumes often make it difficult to know if you've run into someone famous at the festival, a little knowledge can go a long way. These are the powerful techies known to hang out in Black Rock City.
Who knows? You might just run into one of them on one of the festival's famous art cars.Â
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX
Not only has Musk taken more than one pilgrimage to Black Rock City, he's also gone on the record touting the annual art festival as an integral part of Silicon Valley culture.Â
Musk has even been spotted covered in dust at In-n-Out, a popular stop for Burning Man attendees seeking their first post-festival meal. The restaurant draws crowds in no small part because of its proximity to both the freeway and the event.Â
Sergey Brin and Larry Page, founders of Google
Brin (left) and PageREUTERS/Chip East Brin and Page have reportedly attended the event repeatedly over the years, enthusiastically. To disguise their identities, they've worn full spandex body suits, according to published reports. And they've encouraged Google employees to attend, even running a free shuttle bus to the event.
But no anecdote captures Google's relationship to Burning Man quite like the story of Brin's separation from 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki.
The couple separated in 2013 because Brin was having an affair with one of his employees, Amanda Rosenberg. After initially keeping the separation secret, Brin reportedly decided to publicly reveal it before that year's Burning Man, because he planned to attend the event with Rosenberg.Â
Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google's Alphabet
It's not hard to find photos of Schmidt in the sort of Mad Max-meets-clown attire that is so common at the festival. But attending Burning Man hasn't always been a chance for Schmidt to get in touch with his wild side.Â
Brin, Page and Schmidt have all said publicly that Schmidt worked his way into the Google CEO job while networking at the festival. Google's founders reportedly picked Schmidt because his love for the event indicated he would fit in well with Google's culture.
Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein, founders of Asana
Moskovitz (left) and RosensteinAsana One of the biggest sources of information about which tech executives go to Burning Man is Moskovitz, who cofounded Facebook before launching. In 2013, Moskovitz wrote a heartfelt Medium post that listed peers who had been to the big event.Â
His piece â no doubt controversial within the Burning Man community â argued that billionaires have a right to be at Burning Man. The festival had opened the eyes of many of his rich friends, Moskovitz said. Those who denied their right to attend were promoting a culture of exclusivity, he wrote.Â
Among the tech execs Moskovitz listed as festival attendees were Rosenstein; Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg; and the Winklevoss twins, who famously sued Zuckerberg over the origins of the social network.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook
These days, Zuckerberg is busy traveling the country trying to get in touch with real Americans. But not too long ago, he took a break from his busy schedule to fly into Burning Man â for a day.Â
The story, which was confirmed in Moskovitz's tell-all Medium post, is that Zuckerberg helicoptered into the desert to serve grilled cheeses.Â
"Along with its other inhabitants, he helped pitch his own tent. I wanted him to experience the city and to experience gifting because I thought it would make him grow as a person and the world better off as a result; I believe thatâs exactly what happened, however marginally (he was already a pretty great person)," Moskovitz wrote about Zuckerberg.Â
Garrett Camp, co-founder of Uber
Camp attended Burning Man at least once, in the early days of Uber, according to Vanity Fair reporter Nick Bilton. Bilton was introduced to Camp by a mutual friend, who said that Camp was working with someone named "Travis." Presumably the friend meant Travis Kalanick, another Uber cofounder who became its longtime CEO. Â
On Friday, Camp was reportedly working with Travis again as members of the Uber board, which was meeting to try to figure out who will be the company's next CEO.Â
With all the drama at Uber, it seems like Camp might be too busy to head back to Burning Man this year. But who knows? Maybe a life-altering trip to the desert is just what the Uber board needs to make a decision.Â
Alexis Ohanian, executive chairman of Reddit
Serena Williams (Left) and Alexis OhanianNeilson Barnard/Getty Images Ohanian is probably best known at this point as the partner of tennis star Serena Williams. But a few short years ago, he was just another tech leader wandering the desert in hopes of finding himself.
He reportedly attend Burning Man in 2014. But with his and Williams' baby due any day now, it's not likely he'll be on the playa for this year's festivities.
Drew Houston, CEO of Dropbox
TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images Houston reportedly attended Burning Man in 2014. But you might say the topic has been dropped since then.Â
With his company expected to be preparing for an initial public offering, Houston's probably not going to be on the playa this year. But maybe some desert networking is just what Dropbox needs to put drum up some excitement in an IPO.
