The man who turned a tiny Swiss ski town into the capital of global policymaking is seeing his technocratic kingdom crumble.
What happened: The World Economic Forum (WEF) has launched a probe into its founder, Klaus Schwab, after whistleblowers claimed he manipulated the forum’s annual global competitiveness report to appease governments (and engaged in some light embezzlement, to boot).
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Whistleblowers allege that Schwab used WEF funds to pay for massages at hotels and asked employees to withdraw a few thousand bucks from ATMs now and again.
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Schwab — who stepped down from his role as chairman of the WEF board on Monday before the whistleblower letter dropped — has denied the allegations.
Catch-up: Schwab founded the WEF in 1971, which held its first conference in Davos later that year. Under his reign, the forum grew into an immensely influential force in policy, and its annual conference became a must-attend for parka-sporting CEOs and global leaders.
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However, it’s also garnered criticism for fostering an elitist environment that results in lots of talk and no action. Schwab’s leadership has also come into question before.
Why it matters: The WEF’s competition report is its flagship publication, used by policymakers and business leaders to help decisions and by academics to aid research. If even parts of it have been using falsified data, the ripple effects could be seismic.—QH