In April, the Wall Street Journal revealed that an anonymous letter had been sent to the WEF board, accusing Schwab and his wife Hilde of “mixing their personal affairs with Forum resources without proper oversight”.
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In a separate statement, the WEF also revealed an investigation commissioned by the board has cleared its founder Klaus Schwab and his wife of accusations made against them by anonymous whistleblowers.
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“There is no evidence of serious misconduct on the part of Klaus Schwab. Similarly, there is no evidence of misconduct on the part of Hilde Schwab, who has supported the World Economic Forum (WEF) for more than five decades without remuneration,” the WEF Board said in a statement on Friday.
It had asked an “independent” and “reputable” law firm to carry out the investigation following the anonymous allegations.
“The minor irregularities, resulting from blurred boundaries between personal contributions and Forum operations, reflect a deep commitment rather than an intent to misconduct. The Board (of Directors) has taken steps to resolve all the issues identified during the investigation, including strengthening governance in general,” the statement said.
+ WEF reportedly investigates founder Klaus Schwab
The announcement was made at the same time as the replacement of the former boss of food giant Nestlé, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, as interim chair of the Forum’s board of directors. He was reported in the press as one of the architects of Schwab’s departure.
A duo as interim co-chairs of the WEF
He has been replaced by the duo of Larry Finck, the American billionaire and co-founder of the Blackrock investment fund, and André Hoffmann, a Swiss billionaire and vice-chair of the Roche pharmaceutical group, according to a separate press release from the Forum, issued at the same time as the results of the investigation were announced.
In April, the Wall Street Journal revealed that an anonymous letter had been sent to the WEF board, accusing Schwab and his wife Hilde of “mixing their personal affairs with Forum resources without proper oversight”.
A spokesperson for Schwab interviewed by the American daily immediately denied the accusations.
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According to the WSJ, the anonymous letter, which came from current and former employees, prompted the board of directors to hold an emergency meeting on Easter Sunday, with Schwab “opting for an immediate resignation” from his role as chair of the board “rather than staying on for an extended transition period as previously planned”, according to the WSJ, which relied on “informed sources” without naming them.
Among other things, the letter included accusations that Schwab, founder of the Forum that organises an annual summit for political and economic elites in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Davos, had asked young employees to withdraw “thousands of dollars” from cash dispensers on his behalf and had used the organisation’s funds to pay for massages during hotel stays.
Conspiracy theories
Born in Ravensburg, Germany, in 1938, Schwab was a professor of business management at the University of Geneva, where he taught until 2003, when he launched the European Management Symposium in 1971, the forerunner of today’s WEF.
He then expanded it by inviting American business leaders, building up a huge address book and transforming the event into a major international gathering dedicated to business relations and the exchange of ideas.
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Over the years, the Davos event has gone from strength to strength, attracting the world’s economic and political elite and even, for a time, the biggest stars in cinema and entertainment.
The WEF has also been heavily criticised, accused of creating a space for the corporate world to exert pressure on governments without democratic control.
The influence of the Forum has even given rise to the concept of the “Davos man”, in reference to a globalised elite of stateless ultra-rich people committed to the cause of free trade.
Like other international organisations, the WEF is the subject of numerous conspiracy theories, accused of wanting to establish a “new world order” in order to “control the population”.
Elon Musk, one of the richest men in the world and an influential member of US President Donald Trump’s entourage, accused Schwab on his social network X of wanting “to be the emperor of the Earth”.
The World Economic Forum has regularly warned that misinformation is one of the greatest risks facing humanity.
Translated from French with DeepL/gw
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