GENEVA (AP) — The World Economic Forum, which runs an annual gathering of elites in Davos, Switzerland, says its board has given its unanimous support for an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct by founder Klaus Schwab.
The statement from the Geneva-based think tank and event organizer late Tuesday came after a report published by The Wall Street Journal cited a whistleblower letter alleging financial and ethical misconduct by Schwab, 87, and his wife, Hilde.
The newspaper reported that the allegations were sent in an anonymous letter to the board last week and included claims that the Schwab family mixed their personal affairs with Forum resources.
In a statement sent to The Associated Press, the Forum said its board — which includes former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Jordan's Queen Rania and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde as members — agreed to a decision by its risk and audit committee to open the probe.
“While the Forum takes these allegations seriously, it emphasizes that they remain unproven, and will await the outcome of the investigation to comment further,” the statement said.
The AP was not immediately able to reach Schwab or a contact person for him.
The allegations emerged two days after the WEF announced Schwab had retired “with immediate effect” as chairman, and that former Nestle Chairman and CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe was taking over as interim chairman.
For decades, the Forum’s annual gathering in Davos has hosted top business executives, government leaders, academics, international organizations, cultural figures, sports legends and celebrities to discuss government policy, deal-making and current affairs.
FILE - World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab speaks at the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file)
ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV met with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado in a private audience at the Vatican on Monday.
The meeting, which hadn’t been previously included in the list of Leo’s planned appointments, was later listed by the Vatican in its daily bulletin, without adding details.
Machado is touring Europe and the United States after she reemerged in December after 11 months in hiding to accept her Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.
Pope Leo, the first American pontiff, has called for Venezuela to remain an independent country after U.S. forces captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from his compound in Caracas and flew him to New York to face federal charges of drug-trafficking.
Leo had said he was following the developments in Venezuela with “deep concern,” and urged the protection of human and civil rights in the Latin American country.
Venezuela’s opposition, backed by consecutive Republican and Democratic administrations in the U.S., had vowed for years to immediately replace Maduro with one of their own and restore democracy to the oil-rich country. But U.S. President Donald Trump delivered them a heavy blow by allowing Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to assume control.
Meanwhile, most opposition leaders, including Machado, are in exile or prison.
After winning the 2025 Nobel Prize for Peace, Machado said she’d like to give it to or share with Trump.
Machado dedicated the prize to Trump, along with the people of Venezuela, shortly after it was announced. Trump has coveted and openly campaigned for winning the Nobel Prize himself since his return to office in January 2025.
The organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize — the Norwegian Nobel Institute — said, however, that once it's announced, the prize can’t be revoked, transferred or shared with others.
“The decision is final and stands for all time,” it said in a short statement last week.
This image released by Vatican Media shows Pope Leo XIV meeting with Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado of Venezuela, right, inside his private library at the Vatican, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Vatican Media via AP, HO)
This image released by Vatican Media shows Pope Leo XIV meeting with Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado of Venezuela, right, inside his private library at the Vatican, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Vatican Media via AP, HO)
This image released by Vatican Media shows Pope Leo XIV meeting with Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado of Venezuela, right, inside his private library at the Vatican, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Vatican Media via AP, HO)
FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)
