World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and former executive chairman Klaus Schwab is reportedly being investigated by the organization he started after a whistleblower’s letter made a series of lurid allegations against the octogenarian and other family members.
Alleged financial and ethical misconduct by the longtime globalist leader and his wife – all of which he denies – including alleged use of luxury property and travel are at the crux of the claims, first made public by the Wall Street Journal.
The accusatory letter also alleged Schwab family members mixed personal matters with the WEF’s resources without proper oversight, according to the WSJ.
The announcement of the probe came barely 24-hours after the erstwhile German academic stepped down with no reason given, as Breitbart News reported.
Klaus Schwab Announces Resignation as World Economic Forum Chairmanhttps://t.co/W9glyiO6Ae
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 21, 2025
Schwab, 87, resigned as chair of WEF’s board of trustees with immediate effect Sunday. His departure was confirmed at at an extraordinary meeting where WEF trustees discussed the fresh claims against him as revealed in what the organisation called a “whistleblower letter.”
The trustees unanimously supported a decision to call in legal advisers, the WEF said. “This decision was made after consultation with external legal counsel and in line with the forum’s fiduciary responsibilities,” it added.
The Financial Times set out some of the issues now to be addressed:
The new claims come on top of others made last year alleging Schwab presided over a toxic workplace culture where sexual harassment was not properly investigated and Black and female employees were discriminated against.
In March, WEF reported to sponsors that the earlier investigation “did not find the forum had committed any legal violations” and “did not substantiate” allegations of misconduct against him.
The letter, said to have been sent by anonymous current and former WEF staff, “included allegations that Klaus Schwab asked junior employees to withdraw thousands of dollars from ATMs on his behalf and used Forum funds to pay for private, in-room massages at hotels,” wrote the WSJ, which said it had seen the missive and spoken with people familiar with the case, per AFP.
“It also alleged that his wife Hilde, a former Forum employee, scheduled ‘token’ Forum-funded meetings in order to justify luxury holiday travel at the organisation’s expense,” the paper said.
Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on January 21, 2025. (Halil Sagirkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images)
And the letter reportedly aired concerns about how Schwab treated female employees, and how his decades-long leadership allegedly allowed instances of sexual harassment and discriminatory behaviour to go unchecked.
A spokesperson for Schwab told the WSJ every allegation was false, the organisation was always reimbursed for personal spending, and the Schwab family intended to file a lawsuit against the those behind the anonymous letter.
WEF has said vice chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe will serve as interim chairman as a search committee looks for a permanent replacement for Schwab.
