Klaus Schwab has decided it’s time to go. The 86-year-old Swiss-born entrepreneur is stepping down as the executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the elite social networking group he founded in 1971.
For over 50 years, Schwab has overseen the rise of a formidable business empire, worth £345 million in 2022/23, the most recent year for which we have annual accounts. The group includes the convention itself, which takes over Davos every January, and sister organisations such as Global Shapers, Young Global Leaders and Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs, the latter boasting “over 500 city based hubs”. As well as a networking event, WEF is both a think tank and a sprawling network of ersatz NGOs.
