The Unraveling of the King of Davos – WSJ

For decades, Klaus Schwab ruled over Davos like royalty. That reign ended when he hit send on an email to World Economic Forum trustees on a recent Friday afternoon.

Schwab was seemingly headed for a graceful exit from the organization he founded more than a half-century ago, after a 2024 investigation by The Wall Street Journal exposed evidence of a toxic culture at the Forum for women and Black employees. But by Friday, April 18, the trustees audit committee recommended opening a probe into a new wave of whistleblower allegations against Schwab and his wife, Hilde. 

Incensed, Klaus Schwab fired off a two-paragraph message to the board s audit committee, threatening trustees with an investigation into how they were carrying out their duties and accusing them of risking the future of the organization. 

You have the opportunity to withdraw your note to the board in the next 24 hours with the specific regret to have put into question my reputation, his email said. He offered some advice: To facilitate such a move, you could refer to the fact that I will file a criminal complaint.

Yours sincerely, he signed off. Klaus.

The bombshell email was aimed at stopping trustees from responding formally to accusations that the Schwabs for years had improperly intermingled their personal finances with the well-endowed nonprofit s accounts. 

Instead it backfired on the 87-year-old founder of the Forum, the Swiss institution behind the glitzy annual gathering of world leaders, finance moguls, celebrities and journalists each January in the Alps.

For decades, Klaus Schwab handpicked executives at the Forum and fired employees who crossed him. He personally tapped royalty, politicians and CEOs for the Forum s board of trustees. His wife was granted wide leeway as head of a Forum-linked foundation and the organization s highest-profile volunteer. 

via www.wsj.com

This calls for a more poetic encomium than I can produce. But ChatGPT is up to I’m sure. Stay tuned.

But I’m so happy. Poor Klaus will be fine. Picture him in his lederhosen, traipsing the Alps, sniffing the edelweiss and chowing down on the occasional insect. And Mrs. Klaus can be stirring the strudel back in the chalet. Idyllic!