A growing number of top business leaders are pulling out of a high-profile Saudi investment conference following the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi business conference, officially titled the Future Investment Initiative, is part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to modernize the country’s economy and wean it off its dependence on oil. The conference, dubbed “Davos in the desert,” has become a focal point for the outcry over the unexplained disappearance of Khashoggi, a former Saudi government adviser-turned-critic. International executives and media sponsors, including CNN, have withdrawn from the event as concerns have mounted about Khashoggi’s fate. Top business leaders who have pulled out of the Saudi event in the past week include JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi, Viacom’s (VIAB) Bob Bakish and Arianna Huffington.

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