It reminds of the book "The Power of Positive Thinking" which I tried to read some time ago, but I stopped because it was full of similar anecdotes: "a bank CEO whom I had a dinner with but I can't name...", "a pharaoh friend of mine, who shall remain nameless once did...", "the very important oil magnate who I will refer to as XY..."
I think this is a result of the Chatham House Rule, which is very much in vogue in the startup world these days.