World Economic Forum (WEF)

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a not-for-profit foundation based in Cologny, near Geneva, that brings together heads of large companies, government leaders, central bankers, academics and civil-society groups to discuss global economic and political issues. It is best known for its Annual Meeting held each January in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, which is why "Davos" is often used as shorthand for the global business and political elite. The WEF also runs regional meetings, research projects and multi-stakeholder initiatives.

The WEF is not a government body and has no power to make rules or lend money, unlike the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank Group or the World Trade Organization (WTO), whose leaders regularly attend. Its influence comes from convening people, setting agendas and publishing widely cited reports. In 2015 Switzerland formally recognized it as an international organization for public-private cooperation under a host-state agreement.

Think of the WEF as the organizer of a very exclusive annual conference plus a year-round club. Large companies pay membership fees; in return their bosses get a seat at the table with presidents, ministers and experts, both on stage and in private side meetings that can be more important than the public sessions.

Between meetings the club staff write reports, rank countries, and set up working groups on topics such as climate, technology or jobs. Nobody has to follow what is said, but because so many powerful people are in the same room, ideas floated there can spread quickly into company plans and government policy.

German-born economist Klaus Schwab founded the organization in 1971 as the European Management Forum, a gathering for European executives to learn from American management practice. In 1973 participants adopted the "Davos Manifesto", which argued that companies should serve employees, customers and society as well as shareholders, an early statement of what is now called stakeholder capitalism. Political leaders began attending in the 1970s and 1980s, and the body was renamed the World Economic Forum in 1987.

The forum became closely associated with the era of globalization after the Cold War, hosting meetings between rival leaders and launching initiatives on health and development. It has also held an "Annual Meeting of the New Champions", often called Summer Davos, in China since 2007.

The WEF is funded mainly by fees from roughly 1,000 member and partner companies, most of them large multinational corporations, with tiered packages that give different levels of access. It is governed by a Board of Trustees.

Leadership changed sharply in 2025 and 2026. Klaus Schwab stepped down as chairman in April 2025 amid allegations about his conduct and the forum's management, which he denied; in August 2025 the board said an external review had found no material wrongdoing and appointed BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink and Roche vice-chairman André Hoffmann as interim co-chairs. In February 2026 president and chief executive Børge Brende stepped down after an independent review of his past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein, and Alois Zwinggi was named interim president and CEO while a permanent successor was sought. The 2026 Davos meeting ran from 19 to 23 January under the co-chairs.

• Global Risks Report. An annual survey of experts and executives ranking short- and long-term threats, from geopolitical conflict to misinformation and climate change.
• Global Gender Gap Report. Published since 2006, it scores countries on gaps between women and men in work, education, health and politics.
• Future of Jobs Report. Employer surveys on how technology, automation and innovation will change labor demand and skills.
• Global Competitiveness Report. Long-running rankings of countries' productivity drivers, which the forum has reworked in recent years.
• Multi-stakeholder platforms. Projects on climate, ESG investing metrics, trade, cyber security and health. The vaccine alliance Gavi was launched at Davos in 2000.

The WEF draws criticism from several directions:

• From the left and anti-globalization movements. Critics argue that Davos lets wealthy companies shape public policy without accountability, that its talk of fairness sits uneasily with rising economic inequality, and that private-jet arrivals undercut its climate messaging and the goals of the Paris Agreement.
• From the right and nationalist politicians. Some see the forum as a symbol of unelected global elites promoting free-market globalization, open borders or climate rules over national sovereignty, and resist what they view as its influence on governments.
• The "Great Reset". A 2020 WEF initiative for post-pandemic recovery became the subject of widespread conspiracy theories claiming a secret plan for global control. Fact-checkers and the forum describe these claims as unfounded; supporters and critics alike note that the initiative itself was a set of non-binding proposals.
• Governance. The 2025–2026 leadership turmoil raised questions about oversight within a foundation long shaped by its founder.

Defenders argue that the forum offers a rare neutral space where business, government and civil society meet face to face, that it supplies useful data on risks and labor markets, and that its gatherings support trust between leaders at times of high uncertainty. Its debates often track wider swings between openness and protectionism in the world economy, and the presence of central bank governors and institutional investors keeps it a fixture of the financial calendar.

• World Economic Forum