Klaus Schwab, the architect behind the World Economic Forum and its sweeping vision of globalism, is now reportedly at the center of a sprawling internal investigation that has uncovered what some Forum trustees are calling a pattern of self-dealing, bullying, and questionable ethics—an ironic turn for an institution long championing “stakeholder capitalism” and corporate responsibility.
A probe commissioned by the WEF board this April—after yet another whistleblower complaint—has revealed allegations of inappropriate conduct spanning more than a decade, including suggestive remarks to female employees, retaliatory management tactics, and a troubling history of unchecked spending by Schwab and his wife, Hilde.
Among the more damning findings is a late-night 2020 email from Schwab to a female staffer asking, “Do you feel that I am thinking of you,” which investigators characterized as “potentially inappropriate.”
Schwab, now 87 and recently retired, pushed back hard, calling the allegations an attack on his legacy and insisting through a spokesman that he “always treated women respectfully.”
But the preliminary report paints a different picture. Interviews with over 50 current and former employees indicate that Schwab ruled the Forum like a personal “fiefdom,” using fear and favoritism to maintain control while marginalizing women—particularly those who were pregnant or over 40—at key points in their careers.
Investigators concluded this had serious impacts on their mental health and job advancement.
The findings also detail over $1.1 million in questionable travel reimbursements filed by the Schwabs, many covering first-class flights for Hilde, who holds no formal role at the Forum.
Trips to Miami, Venice, and the Seychelles appeared to lack business justification, and lavish expenditures—such as Russian tea sets, Tiffany cufflinks, fur coats, and even 14 hotel massages billed to junior staff—have drawn sharp scrutiny.
Schwab insists those expenses were either donated, repaid, or justified under a “good-faith understanding” between the Forum and the Schwab Foundation, which his wife chaired. She has not drawn a salary since 1973, he added.
Yet perhaps most troubling to some trustees are allegations that Schwab personally intervened in the Forum’s prestigious Global Competitiveness Report, manipulating country rankings to suit political relationships.
In one instance, investigators say Schwab demanded India’s score be raised, citing ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while suggesting the U.K. be downgraded post-Brexit to avoid fueling nationalist sentiment.
So much for neutrality and data-driven governance.
The Swiss law firm Homburger is leading the investigation and is expected to finalize recommendations by the end of August. The board may then pass the report to Swiss nonprofit regulators—or even prosecutors.
This isn’t Schwab’s first brush with scrutiny. An earlier investigation, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, prompted a shake-up in Forum leadership earlier this year. That probe cleared Schwab, but the allegations refused to fade.
Now, as Davos and its global elite face fresh questions, conservatives may find vindication in what many have suspected all along: that the Forum’s lofty rhetoric about equity and governance masked a deeply flawed internal culture, built around one man who seemed to believe the rules simply didn’t apply to him.
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