Business Bigwigs in Butte

Butte, a mining town almost a century removed from its heyday, is the unlikely landing spot this week for some of the business world's biggest names.

Google's Eric Schmidt and Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg will be joined by CEOs from companies like Ford, Boeing, Delta Airlines, FedEx, electric super car-maker Tesla, ConocoPhillips and Hewlett-Packard.

The glittering luminaries, drawn by the invitation of retiring Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, will be joined by other business leaders in an economically struggling city that was once one of the largest west of the Mississippi and dubbed "the world's richest hill." The Democrat readily admits his sway over tax and budget issues gets the business leaders to his home state.

Butte is about a third of its peak size today, at about 34,000 citizens. Gone is the bustle and famous red light district. Although it remains a colorful place, its aging population hasn't kept pace with improving economies elsewhere in a state that features one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

For at least two days this week, though, it again becomes a bustling hotbed of entrepreneurial dynamos as several thousand people are expected for the Montana Jobs Summit.

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