An investigation conducted by the World Economic Forum’s board on Friday cleared the body’s founder Klaus Schwab and his wife of wrongdoing, after a probe into whistleblower complaints.
“Following a thorough review of all facts, the Board has concluded that … there is no evidence of material wrongdoing by Klaus Schwab,” the board announced.
In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that an anonymous letter sent to the prestigious institution’s board of directors accused Schwab and his wife Hilde of mixing their personal affairs with Forum resources without proper oversight.
A spokesperson for Schwab had immediately denied all these accusations, but the 87-year-old said he would step down as head of the WEF.
The board of the WEF, best known for its annual summit for political and business elites in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Davos, asked a law firm to carry out an independent probe of the allegations.
“Minor irregularities, stemming from blurred lines between personal contributions and Forum operations, reflect deep commitment rather than intent of misconduct,” the statement said.
“The Board has taken action to address all issues identified throughout the investigation, including strengthening the governance in general.”
Also on Friday, the WEF said it will be replacing former Nestle CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe as interim chairman of the board.
He is being replaced by the billionaire duo of Larry Finck, the American co-founder of the investment fund Blackrock, and Andre Hoffmann, the Swiss vice-chairman of the pharmaceutical group Roche, according to a separate statement.
The letter alleged Schwab had asked junior employees to withdraw “thousands of dollars” from ATMs for him and used organisation funds to pay for massages during hotel stays. But the probe found nothing improper in his conduct.
Schwab was born in Ravensburg, Germany, on March 30, 1938. He was married with two children.
He was a professor of business management at the University of Geneva, where he taught until 2003, when in the early 1970s he launched the “European Management Forum,” the precursor to the current Forum.
He expanded it by inviting American business leaders, successfully building a huge network of the world’s economic and political elite, transforming the event into a major high-level international gathering dedicated to business relations and the exchange of ideas.
The Forum’s success has led to the satirical concept of “Davos Man”, the supposed avatar of a globalised elite of the stateless ultra-rich committed to free trade and high-minded seminars on corporate social responsibility.
Like other international organisations, the WEF has spurred conspiracy theories alleging that it was seeking to establish a “new world order”.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and once an influential member of US President Donald Trump’s inner circle, accused Schwab on his social media platform X of wanting to “be the emperor of the Earth.”
