Klaus Schwab and his wife cleared of all suspicion

An investigation by the board of directors of the World Economic Forum (WEF) has cleared its founder Klaus Schwab and his wife of accusations made against them by anonymous whistleblowers, which had forced the organization's leader to resign .

"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 supported the Forum for more than five decades without any compensation," the Forum's board of directors said in a statement released Friday. It had asked an "independent" and "reputable" law firm to conduct the investigation following the anonymous allegations.

"Minor irregularities, resulting from blurred lines between personal contributions and Forum operations, reflect a deep commitment rather than an intentional misconduct. The board has taken steps to address all issues identified during the investigation, including strengthening governance in general," the statement added.

This announcement comes at the same time as the replacement of former food giant Nestlé boss Peter Brabeck-Letmathe as interim chairman of the Forum's board of directors. He was presented by the press as one of the architects of Klaus Schwab's departure. He is being replaced by the duo of Larry Finck, the American billionaire co-founder of the investment fund Blackrock, and André Hoffmann, a Swiss billionaire vice-chairman of the pharmaceutical group Roche, according to a separate press release from the Forum, released at the same time as the announcement of the investigation results.

In April, the Wall Street Journal revealed that an anonymous letter had been sent to the board of directors of the prestigious institution, accusing Klaus Schwab and his wife Hilde of having "mixed their personal affairs with the Forum's resources, without proper oversight." A spokesperson for Klaus Schwab, interviewed by the American daily, immediately denied these accusations.

The anonymous letter, which came from current and former employees, according to the newspaper, prompted the board to meet urgently "on Easter Sunday," with Klaus Schwab having "opted for an immediate resignation" from his role as chairman of the board "rather than staying for an extended transition period as previously planned," according to the Wall Street Journal, which relied on "informed sources" without naming them.

The letter included, among other things, accusations that Klaus Schwab, founder of the forum, which holds an annual summit for political and business elites in the luxury ski resort of Davos, had asked junior employees to withdraw "thousands of dollars" from ATMs for him and used organization funds to pay for massages during hotel stays.

Born in Ravensburg, Germany, in 1938, Klaus Schwab was still just a professor of business administration at the University of Geneva, where he taught until 2003, when he launched the "European Management Symposium" in 1971, the precursor to today's Forum. He then expanded it by inviting American business leaders, managing to build up a huge address book and transforming this meeting into a major international gathering dedicated to business relations and the exchange of ideas.

Over the years, the Davos Forum has gone from strength to strength, attracting the world's business and political elite and even, for a time, the biggest stars of film and entertainment.

The World Economic Forum is also widely criticized, accused of creating a space for the corporate world to exert pressure on governments without democratic oversight. The forum's influence has even given rise to the concept of "Davos Man," a reference to a globalized elite of stateless ultra-rich people committed to the cause of free trade.

Like other international organizations, the WEF has been the subject of numerous fake news and conspiracy theories, accusing it of seeking 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 U.S. President Donald Trump's inner circle, accused Klaus Schwab on his social media platform X of wanting to "be the emperor of the Earth." The World Economic Forum has regularly warned that disinformation is one of humanity's greatest risks.