I actually think that their business model is awesome. The fact is that the general populace is not about to fund a bunch of ~20 minute speeches from various luminaries, but at the same there is undeniable value in getting well-prepared and important thoughts from a bunch of excellent speakers archived and available in perpetuity online. So rather than trying to produce value from a consumer who may see little value beyond a brief mind-bending video, they turn it into an exclusive charity club. Taken on its own, it appears to be a way to sleeze $7k out of pretentious rich people, but they do actually provide a lot of intellectual sparks to the benefit of the world outside.