The founder of the World Economic Forum is firing back after a bombshell investigation accused him of cooking economic reports and billing over a million dollars in questionable expenses.
Klaus Schwab, the 87-year-old architect of Davos and the WEF’s global elite gatherings, slammed the organization’s board of trustees on Sunday, accusing them of breaking a confidentiality deal by letting media outlets get wind of the allegations.
“I am in a position to refute all the accusations brought up against me,” Schwab said in a statement after Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung detailed preliminary findings from a law firm’s probe.
The investigation, conducted by Swiss law firm Homburger and ordered by the WEF’s own board, reportedly found that Schwab interfered with the forum’s flagship economic rankings to favor political allies and avoid controversy - and submitted 900,000 Swiss francs (about $1.1 million) in expenses that investigators say lacked proper justification.
Three months ago we reported that Schwab was under investigation by the WEF after a whistleblower alleged financial and ethical misconduct by Mr. "eat the bugs" and his wife.
In an anonymous letter from sent to the board of directors by 'current and former Forum employees,' Schwab and his wife are accused of commingling their personal affairs with WEF resources without proper oversight, and much more...
Among the most serious allegations:
Other allegations include the Schwab family's use of Villa Mundi - a luxury property bought before the pandemic by the Forum located next to the organization's Geneva headquarters, which the whistleblower letter maintains that Hilde Schwab maintains tight control over, and which the forum paid $30 million to purchase and another $20 million to renovate - also overseen by Hilde.
Schwab says he paid the WEF back for said 'in-room massages', and denied the allegations about luxury travel and withdrawing funds.
According to the WEF, its board unanimously supported the decision to launch an independent investigation "following a whistleblower letter containing allegations against former Chairman Klaus Schwab. This decision was made after consultation with external legal counsel."
Schwab abruptly resigned from the WEF in April after the allegations surfaced. A replacement has yet to be named.
The report claims Schwab personally intervened to tweak the WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report to protect ties with key leaders like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 2017, Schwab allegedly ordered a delay in releasing the rankings to avoid souring relations with India, whose score took a dive. He also reportedly advised holding back on boosting the UK’s ranking to avoid giving ammo to Brexit supporters.
In another incident in 2022, Schwab allegedly shared draft rankings with an unnamed country official whose position slipped, pushing to kill that year’s report entirely. The WEF later blamed the cancellation on COVID-related disruptions.
Schwab insists he’s been deceived, saying he offered to sit for an interview with investigators on July 15 and was promised a chance to review the findings before any conclusions were published.
“In this respect I feel deceived,” he said. “I am willing to defend my interests with all my strength, even in the context of a legal dispute.”
The WEF stayed tight-lipped when contacted by Bloomberg, saying only that it would comment once the probe concludes, likely by late August.
Sunday’s revelations ramp up an already heated battle between Schwab and his former colleagues. Just weeks ago, the WEF and its founder released a joint statement claiming they were working to “normalize” their strained relationship.
But with accusations of data manipulation and lavish spending now in the open, that détente looks increasingly shaky.