Tony Stark’s birthday is more of a public viewing event than a private celebration. It’s all about who got invited and who didn’t, about who arrived with whom and who left when, about who wore it better and who couldn’t keep up.
It’s not personal, maybe, but that doesn’t mean Tony doesn’t love it.
Tony takes pride in wearing the most outrageous outfits possible, for one. One year, he let R&D from Stark Industries run wild on design suggestions -- which led to all other divisions demanding the same rights, which led to The 32nd Birthday That Shall Not Be Mentioned, which led to an entirely healthy level of respect for the accountants on the 13th floor.
Another great example is the The Truth Shall Set You Free tradition.
(Basically, the most outrageous rumor that anyone manages to spread and have people actually believe -- to the point that guests who were actually there and should know better will confirm that yes, Greenpeace is starting a revolt because Tony Stark did arrive on a carriage pulled by two Siberian tigers, why do you ask -- wins the Golden Lipstick [which is actually candy that tastes like Sprite] and gets four extra tickets for the next birthday party.)
Than there’s all those nifty inventions and changes (and later on policies) that Tony and Pepper push through right around the time when the public is too busy gossiping about Tony’s latest scandal to wonder why yet another old fart has been gently nudged out of the board. But really, that’s just a nice side effect...
