Klaus Schwab, the founder of the World Economic Forum and its public face for more than half a century, is at the center of a widening internal investigation into alleged workplace misconduct, inappropriate spending, and personal interventions in the Forum’s research and operations, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and individuals familiar with the probe.
The Forum’s board of trustees commissioned the investigation in April following a whistleblower complaint. Preliminary findings accuse Schwab of a pattern of inappropriate behavior, including suggestive and potentially inappropriate remarks to female staff, questionable travel expenses exceeding $1.1 million for himself and his wife Hilde Schwab, and alleged manipulation of the Forum’s influential Global Competitiveness Report.
In one instance cited by investigators, Schwab wrote to a senior female executive in a late-night email in June 2020, “Do you feel that I am thinking of you.”
Investigators told trustees that Schwab treated the Forum like his “fiefdom,” fostering a culture of intimidation and fear while allowing harassment and discrimination to go unchecked. They also flagged 14 hotel massages billed to the Forum – either through Schwab’s corporate card or junior employees’ cards – noting he later reimbursed roughly half. Schwab said he had instructed assistants to bill him for such expenses.
Schwab, now 87, stepped down from the Forum over Easter weekend and no longer holds any official role. In a written statement, he defended his and his wife’s decades-long involvement: “Throughout this journey, Hilde and I never used the Forum for personal enrichment.”
Through a spokesman, Schwab also rejected the report’s broader conclusions, citing his fixed annual salary of 1 million Swiss francs (approximately $1.3 million), a 100,000 franc allowance for entertaining guests, and a commitment to reimbursing any personal costs mistakenly covered by the Forum.
He added that any travel expenses covered for his wife were based on a “good-faith understanding” between the Forum and the Schwab Foundation, which she chaired without a salary since 1973. Schwab also said he donated most gifts to charity and displayed others, such as Russian tea sets, at Forum headquarters. “He didn’t specifically recall other gifts described by investigators,” the spokesman added.
The internal inquiry, led by Swiss law firm Homburger, has involved interviews with over 50 current and former employees. The firm is expected to deliver a final report to the full board by the end of August, which will be shared with Swiss nonprofit regulators and may be referred to prosecutors.
Hellbound and Down 