World Economic Forum WEF: What is actually behind the meeting?

The world’s political and economic elite is meeting in the Swiss winter sports resort of Davos this week: heads of state and government, CEOs of large companies, powerful non-governmental organizations. They all follow the call of the World Economic Forum, which aims to create a better world.

But the geopolitical framework of the meeting is more difficult than it has been for a long time: Russia’s war in Ukraine, the shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the German economic downturn and the first days in office of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump – they all will Davos top meeting shapes. And the federal election also casts its shadows.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a foundation founded in 1971 by the German economist Klaus Schwab. It is financed through membership fees and public subsidies. The claim is huge: According to its own statements, the WEF wants to “improve the state of the world”. The central event is the annual meeting starting on Tuesday in Davos, secluded in the Swiss Alps.

Actually, the members of the World Economic Forum, mostly large companies, should think about their contribution to solving global crises, including climate and social inequality. But WEF President Borge Brende admitted in an interview with a Swiss newspaper that it is often about business.

For years, politicians from all over the world have been using the forum for discussions in an informal setting. “Governments, companies and civil society meet here to better understand what the world is facing this year,” said Brende. Time and again there have been significant breakthroughs in global politics, for example with regard to the end of apartheid in South Africa.

The motto is “Collaboration for the Smart Age” and the official program includes cybercrime, artificial intelligence and technological changes. But actually you could also title the WEF with a name: Donald Trump.

Few things will shape this year’s meeting as much as the US President’s comeback and his eagerly awaited first decisions. The threatened import tariffs against China and other important trading partners in particular are causing economists to fear for global economic growth. Trump recently also provoked by demanding that the other NATO states have to raise significantly more money for armaments – which could cause higher national debts and drive up interest rates. The fear: Inflation could be reignited in many countries.

The re-elected US president is more of a man of deals than of finely negotiated diplomacy – which is why he is definitely a fan of the World Economic Forum. In his first term in office (2017-2021), Trump was the first sitting US president to attend the forum in person. On Thursday, the 78-year-old will speak again in Davos – but he will only be connected digitally. The forum is too close to his inauguration, after which he wants to initiate the first political decisions. It is still unclear whether Trump advisor Elon Musk will come to Davos.

According to the WEF, around 900 CEOs and 60 heads of state and government are traveling. As in previous years, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will play another key role. It’s his turn on Tuesday – just like Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The SPD politician is not the only German candidate for chancellor with a speech slot: Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) is on the program on Wednesday, Union candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz – announced as the German opposition leader in the Bundestag – on Tuesday evening.

The WEF also brings together powerful stakeholders from the Middle East: Israeli President Izchak Herzog and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa have announced their participation. The foreign minister of the interim government is expected from Syria, as are the Saudi foreign minister and the vice president of Iran. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is taking part in the meeting from Brussels.

In recent years, the WEF seemed to lose more and more of its importance, and the focus shifted more to the Munich Security Conference. In Davos, on the other hand, the really big names like US President Joe Biden were recently missing. In 2023, Scholz was the only head of state or government of a G7 state to travel, but in 2024 he did not come. But with Trump’s second term in office, the WEF now seems to be moving back into the focus of the political elite.

The meeting has been criticized for being too elitist, as many of the really important meetings take place behind closed doors. The fact that the WEF is difficult to understand from the outside also opens doors for conspiracy theories. The participants, often referred to as the “global elite,” are the number one enemy; fear is stirred up about supposedly secret circles that are striving for a new world order according to their wishes.

Many myths come about through a book that WEF founder Schwab published in 2020. Conspiracy theorists suspect dark intentions in the title: “The great reset” – the great upheaval. However, the entire title is: “Covid-19 – the big upheaval”. However, the contents of the book are often distorted: For example, an appeal to share vehicles more often, known as the “sharing economy,” became the lie that the WEF wanted to ban private cars.