Talk:Klaus Schwab

Klaus Schwab and Think Tools AG
Somebody is removing references to Think Tools AG and Klaus Schwab. The original text was truthful, and none of the facts mentioned in the article have been controversial, i.e. Klaus Schwab's participation in Think Tools AG and its promotion in WEF and related events. Please discuss this here in detail if you feel you need to move references to these facts from the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.69.3.141 (talk) 08:51, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

Correction: The "somebody" is the user "World Economic Forum". I am happy to review any complaints the user "World Economic Forum" has about the text about the relation between Think Tools AG and Klaus Schwab, but I find it inappropriate that WEF decides to whitewash established uncontroversial (but somewhat negative) facts about Klaus Schwab's involvement in Think Tools AG. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.69.3.141 (talk) 09:05, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

There is no attempt on the part of the World Economic Forum to whitewash the entry about Klaus Schwab, its executive chairman. On the contrary we have edited the article clearly stating our intention and signing it from our corporate account "World Economic Forum" on Wikipedia (Contrary to anonymous user 61.69.3.141)

I have removed the entire passage about Think Tools AG since it insinuates that Klaus Schwab had any involvement in the IPO of Think Tools AG. For clarification The Wall Street Journal whose article from 30 March 2000 is cited as reference had to retract its allegations in its edition of 8 May 2000 under the heading: "Regulators Clear Schwab Foundation" and Exonerate World Economic Forum. Matthias Lüfkens, Associate Directror, World Economic Forum —Preceding unsigned comment added by World Economic Forum (talk • contribs) 15:45, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

Video
I have provided a video of Klaus Schwab on Wikimedia Commons. It is under a free license. I am not sure if it is allowed, but I think it could be a useful addition to the article. The speech was recorded on the Reinhard Mohn Prize ceremony and is both in German and English. -- Kai at BSt (talk) 07:49, 23 April 2019 (UTC)

Reply 23-APR-2019
Spintendo 11:28, 23 April 2019 (UTC)

Early Life section.
For someone so constantly in the news why is there no early life section? Do we know anything about this guy? Why can't we know what culture or religion his family hails from? It may have influenced his upbringing and values. 121.210.33.50 (talk) 15:40, 22 November 2020 (UTC)
 * This does not justify the addition of slanderous comments, such as naming what religion he coincidentally belongs to. -- Devoke water  (talk)  13:37, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Which religion is slanderous? Can you be more specific? Thanks! 180.81.32.195 (talk) 05:01, 5 July 2022 (UTC)
 * How is it at all slanderous to mention religious affiliation? In essentially any major figure's Wikipedia page, information about religious beliefs they may hold are contained in the article and early life section/personal life section. GramCanMineAway (talk) 05:49, 8 February 2024 (UTC)

Does anyone know the name of Klaus Schwab’s father? H Jacobson (talk) 11:37, 23 January 2021 (UTC)


 * His father's name was Eugen Schwabowitz. Both have worked for (Sulzer-) Escher-Wyss. Escher-Wyss was a major military contractor for the nazi war machine, supplying anything from flamethrowers to equipment for Norsk Hydro and their heavy water manufacturing. Official publications: Global Economy Prize Laureate 2018 Klaus Schwab. "Klaus Martin Schwab was born on March 30, 1938, in Ravensburg, Germany, where his father was managing director of a subsidiary of Zurich-based engineering firm Escher Wyss." And Klaus Schwab... "From 1967 to 1970, he served on the management board of Swiss engineering firm Sulzer, Escher, Wyss AG, in Zurich." During WWII - from the OSS/CIA - "47178 Escher-Wyss of Switzerland is working on a large order for Germany. Flame-throwers are despatched from Switzerland under the name Brennstoffbehaelter. 1 p. Sept. 1944". Military Agency Records RG 226, Interallied and Interservice Military Agencies Records, Records of the Office of Strategic Services (RG 226). Also, Escher-Wyss in Ravensburg, Germany ran it's own small camp for forced laborers: "Lindau local historian Karl Schweizer states that Escher Wyss temporarily maintained a small camp for forced laborers on the premises of the firm. There, as well as in the city camp at Kamelbuckel, mainly French, Italian and Ukrainian forced laborers were housed." P. 34, Two Escher-Wyss Subsidiaries, Roderick von Kauffingen, Head of Operations sda. 2001:1C00:1E31:5F00:855B:AF93:CCD4:F167 (talk) 06:44, 3 April 2021 (UTC)
 * If you have actual reliable sources for that, maybe you should add it to Escher Wyss & Cie., where it would belong. --Calton &#124; Talk 09:56, 1 August 2021 (UTC)

Neutrality (added template:POV)
Neutrality of this article is obviously lacking. Specifically see the below two sections.

WEF and other foundations “Schwab has had a life-long gift for building successful nonprofit foundations.” “Under Schwab's management, the WEF has been keen to promote its image as a driver for reconciliation efforts in different parts of the world, acting as a catalyst of numerous collaborations and international initiatives.”

Criticism Seems to focus on a single topic while being unencyclopedically and almost polemically critical of it (“various online groups spread the fake news,” “repeatedly debunked and labelled as ‘false’ in fact-check articles,” “ nevertheless persisted,” “unfounded allegations,” “critique writer,” “No evidence,” “alleged,” “many of the claims in the article turned out to be false,” etc.).

Also doesn’t touch on any other criticism, of which there seems to be plenty.

It’s pretty obvious that the article isn’t neutral as WP:Neutrality says it ought be, and that it needs a cleanup by editors more diligent and knowledgeable than I. TortillaDePapas (talk) 16:37, 20 June 2021 (UTC)

Hi TortillaDePapas, I made changes to the "Criticism" subsection. I'll edit them based on your suggestions. But to give context: previously, the "Criticism" page seemed to have been used by a conspirator to post a debunked conspiracy theory about Klaus Schwab. I wanted to address this, without removing the Criticism. Peter Vanham 14:40, 21 June 2021 (UTC) Petervanham. Note my COI, so appreciate an editor coming in and giving the "Criticism" section a profound edit.


 * I've removed the discredited conspiracy theory sentence from 'Criticism' entirely as per WP:UNDUE and I believe 'Criticism' should be reserved for criticisms that are not fringe theories (WP:FRINGE). A separate 'Subject of Conspiracy Theories' section would work if we do think it needs to exist, to separate it from accepted criticisms. JeffUK (talk) 09:16, 4 August 2021 (UTC)

Wondering if we should add points of criticism mentioned in the World Economic Forum article to get to a more balanced view. Things like a lack of financial transparency & the environmental footprint of annual meetings relate to the WEF but the ultimate responsibility for these points is with Klaus Schwab as Chairman of the WEF. --Polynesia2024 (talk) 11:28, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 August 2021
Born 1956| and Klaus Schwab at World Economic Forum 2A00:801:431:3748:CE7:4647:D3B8:B52 (talk) 22:03, 29 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. &mdash; JohnFromPinckney (talk / edits) 20:01, August 29, 2021 (UTC)

Suspicious description - reference 25
Description says: "Global Shapers – Home In late 2019, Klaus engineered COVID 19, and released it to make his dreams come true in the 2020 great reset. In 2021 he set about further throwing the world into turmoil by destroying the economy with his polygon cyber attack. It became self aware July 9th 2021". globalshapers.org. Retrieved 9 June 2020.

It looks like conspiracy theorist's vandalism. Please, check.


 * Good catch; fixed now. Softlavender (talk) 04:49, 20 September 2021 (UTC)

Conflict of Interest
I noticed a heavy marketing and framing drift in the article on Klaus Schwab and have reported this to the conflict of interest noticeboard. Critical points have been removed, honours have been highlighted excessively and Schwab's former secretary Hilde, which he married, has been re-labelled "first collaborator" (which has a strong taste of linguistic framing).

There have been overall 37 of such edits by User Petervanham, who happens to be the Head of International Media Council and Chairman’s Communications at World Economic Forum. Petervanham highlights the conflict of interest on his user page but the heavy sugartalking on the Klaus Schwab article through his account especially over the last few weeks is beyond measure.

This would almost be a case for the media (better not the one the WEF "works with throughout the year" but the independent one), as this is depicting a heavy impact on Wikipedia as neutral and independent source of knowledge. --Polynesia2024 (talk) 07:36, 30 October 2021 (UTC)
 * I've removed the weird bit in the lede. Mentioning his wife is only suitable as a single sentence, stating the fact. Not extended content. It is a introductory section, covered by the WP:MOS, as is the whole article, but the lede in particular needs to be structured in a particular way. It is a summary section only, not detailed.   scope_creep Talk  20:59, 30 October 2021 (UTC)

For reference, the WP:COIN thread is here (permalink); while it hasn't been closed or archived, Petervanham seems to have agreed to submit edit requests in the future, which I look forward to answering here. jp×g 14:09, 7 November 2021 (UTC)

Thank you! That seems fair. Peter Vanham 14:11, 7 November 2021 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Petervanham (talk • contribs)

Paid Editing Disclosure
Would it make sense adding the above disclosure to the article to highlight that the 30+ edits of this article were not only a COI case but moreover a case of paid editing? The disclosure would be in line with the findings of the COI notice board discussions. Apparently this is a very essential distinction, according to WP rules. --Polynesia2024 (talk) 13:56, 13 November 2021 (UTC)

Hi Polynesia, please be more respectful. I’ve indicated I’m not responsible for some of the edits you claimed I made. Please retract those allegations. As for my other edits, they were either factual and backed up by sources, which stand, or they have been reviewed by others. I’ve also not made any edits since Summer. I’ve also committed to not making any further edits but edit requests. I’d appreciate if you could now stop this crusade. On a personal note, I’m not at work and not doing any work at this moment for personal reasons. I would appreciate given the spirit of this place, if you would now stop. Peter Vanham 15:12, 13 November 2021 (UTC)Petervanham — Preceding unsigned comment added by Petervanham (talk • contribs)


 * Template has been added to the top now (by ). I'm disabling the template here so it doesn't unnecessarily appear twice. Softlavender (talk) 00:00, 14 November 2021 (UTC)


 * Oops my edit summary got truncated a minute ago. I have just now fixed the "Connected Contributor" templates at the top so that they are now all together, in the correct chronological order in terms of editing this article or its talkpage, and have links to userpage employer declarations. Softlavender (talk) 02:51, 14 November 2021 (UTC)


 * Thanks for adding to that - there seem to be some very muddy waters in terms of paid Wikipedia edits by the World Economic Forum which we are just starting to uncover. And Petervanham congratulations on the birth of your daughter. I sincerely hope she and your family are doing well. This is nothing personal, it is about numerous modifications of WP articles by multiple WEF-related persons without ever having highlighted the paid nature of the edits. --Polynesia2024 (talk) 10:40, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

Is there any way to check the background of User:Marknoa? He/she likewise seems to have an editorial background while many of the user's additions to the article relate to awards:

--Polynesia2024 (talk) 10:57, 14 November 2021 (UTC)
 * 11,615 bytes +112‎ →‎Awards (Since 2000): added more awards
 * 11,488 bytes +309‎ →‎Foundations: added a para on another community Klaus Schwab founded
 * 11,179 bytes +201‎ →‎Professional life: added new book published
 * 10,978 bytes +50‎ →‎Awards (Since 2000): added another award


 * That editor hasn't edited in over a year. Here are their total edits on the article . As long as everything is neutral and independently cited, it's OK. Please note that WP:OUTING someone on Wikipedia can result in an instant indefinite block. Softlavender (talk) 12:19, 14 November 2021 (UTC)


 * That's alright. I had seen it in the light of the other edits made by the same user e.g. on the World Economic Forum. But I agree with your view here. --Polynesia2024 (talk) 17:05, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

50% of this article is self-cited
It's quite problematic that most of the citations for this article are from the WEF. That needs to change. Everything should be either independently cited, or stated as "According to the WEF ...". Softlavender (talk) 12:19, 14 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm half-planning going through it and removing the WP:SPS sources and leaves the university cv, which is generally considered a suitable ref.   scope_creep Talk  00:30, 23 November 2021 (UTC)
 * It is a really dodgy article. There is hardly any info on him. Considering he is major heavyweight insider type. There should reams on life history.   scope_creep Talk  00:33, 23 November 2021 (UTC)


 * Hi . From what I've read he is extremely private or secretive. I researched his parentage because of the Rothschild rumor floating around (and stated above by an IP here); his father's name and business are verifiable, but his mother's identity remains somewhat shrouded and in dispute on some non-RS websites. I haven't really researched much further than parentage, to be honest. I agree we should not cite SPS; or, in the absence of independent coverage, if we must retain something, if there are no suitably independent sources at present, state "According the WEF ...." or "According to Schwab ...." . Softlavender (talk) 01:48, 23 November 2021 (UTC)


 * There would be so many things to take a look at - why had Schwab initially appointed José María Figueres as CEO and potential successor at the World Economic Forum? In October 2004, the World Economic Forum gained attention through the resignation of Figueres over the undeclared receipt of more than US$900,000 in consultancy fees from the French telecommunications firm Alcatel. It would e.g. be interesting to see how such relationships had evolved next to marketing sentences like a "50 year mentorship by Henry Kissinger". --Polynesia2024 (talk) 08:35, 24 November 2021 (UTC)

Controversial suppression of his fathers' role in Nazi Germany
According to various sources, the father of Klaus Schwab was a director of a facility in Ravensburg that was using prisoners as forced workers, including jews, socialists, homosexuals etc. who have been made prisoners just for what they were. In the light of current global events related to "covid" as well as "event 201" (a corona outbreak simulation organized by the WEF a few months prior to the real "covid19" outbreak), and in consideration of the blatant anti-democratic and destructive postulates that can be found in his book "the 4th industrial revolution" and other works, it appears at least controversial when his Nazi family is not mentioned in this article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.55.224.239 (talk) 23:11, 22 December 2021 (UTC)


 * You're welcome to find reliable sources that refer to this and to submit them here for review. Softlavender (talk) 23:57, 22 December 2021 (UTC)


 * Much info on the family background is in here: Jürgen Dunsch: Gastgeber der Mächtigen: Klaus Schwab und das Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos. FinanzBuch Verlag 2016. S. 26f. --Polynesia2024 (talk) 08:25, 27 December 2021 (UTC)
 * It probably still has to be cross-checked before it could be added. It may be helpful to, if one refers to it, specifically mention this in the discussion (e. g. specific page in the book). That may simplify cross-checking. Wikipedia has to be as objective as possible from A to Z. 2A02:8388:1600:A200:3AD5:47FF:FE18:CC7F (talk) 22:31, 20 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Here's a link to a PDF from the Internet Archive for convenience. Gastgeber der Mächtigen Somers-all-the-time (talk) 20:53, 4 March 2022 (UTC)


 * With due respect, this sounds like the same kind of conspiracy-theory laced nonsense the far-right is spreading about George Soros, who according to them, was a nazi and a member of the SS. 46.97.170.40 (talk) 11:34, 22 February 2022 (UTC)
 * What gives you the idea that this has been spread by *The* 'far right'? But it's of course ludicrous to add the role of his father for things supposedly happening in an article on Klaus Schwab himself. There you can only raise issues he did himself happening in the time frame, when he was a grown up. 105.4.3.32 (talk) 17:34, 12 July 2022 (UTC)
 * It's a far-right conspiracy to say his father is Eugen Schwab? I'm not far-right but I'm pretty sure a stork didn't deliver him to his mother. 66.208.43.92 (talk) 14:40, 29 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Both of you need to learn how to read more accurately, without skipping words. The words you skipped are "sounds like". --Hob Gadling (talk) 18:43, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

Maintaining book list for future edits
I've removed the book section because the content is not mentioned anywhere else in the article. I have a hunch that maybe one or two of them could be integrated into the article's text in a prose format, but until then, here is where that content can stay. Somers-all-the-time (talk) 04:22, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Schwab has authored or co-authored several books:


 * The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Geneva: World Economic Forum (2016). ISBN 978-1944835002.
 * Shaping the Future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. New York: Crown Publishing Group (2018).
 * COVID-19: The Great Reset, with Thierry Malleret. Forum Publishing (2020). ISBN 978-2940631124.
 * Stakeholder Capitalism: A Global Economy that Works for Progress, People and Planet. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley (2021).

Since the article is about a person.. should the book list not be included?

(Sorry, not a regular editor, but came across this article looking for more info on the person.. Hippydog (talk) 00:31, 26 March 2022 (UTC)
 * There is book sections in almost all article I come across. Don't remove it again. That is a complete waste of time. Books do not need to be mentioned in prose section at all, as far as I can see. Often there is not enough information to determine when/where the book was written, merely the fact it was written and published on a certain date and occasionally has reviews. If your going around removing that type of information from articles, dont.   scope_creep Talk  22:30, 20 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Some of these are self published, essentially glorified blogs. Why do those merit inclusion? Jtbobwaysf (talk) 20:10, 22 May 2022 (UTC)

Klaus Schwab
"Schwab was born to Eugen Wilhelm Schwab and Erika Epprecht in Ravensburg (which is in Germany). His parents had moved from Switzerland to Germany during the Third Reich in order for his father to assume the role of director at Escher Wyss AG. How did the parents come to live in Switzerland? The father "assumed" the role of director of Escher Wyss AG -- located where? in Germany? These details are incomplete and/or misleading. How did the Schwabs' acquire Swiss citizenship and when? Was Eugen Wilhelm Schwab (the father of Klaus) a member of the Nazi Party? 49.3.169.141 (talk) 04:28, 19 November 2022 (UTC)


 * They were born Swiss, then moved to Ravensburg. Klaus Schwab however is not a Swiss citizen. EdenCat (talk) 09:37, 18 December 2023 (UTC)

Awards and Honours
In the final section: He is honour member from FC Bayern Munich. He would have to be an "honorary member of FC Bayern Munich" As it is, it sounds like a feeble translation from German.2A00:23C7:5981:A01:510C:E621:68CE:D7D8 (talk) 00:09, 23 November 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 19 January 2023
2603:6080:F101:74BA:3D75:8004:79D1:F1A4 (talk) 03:50, 19 January 2023 (UTC)

Schwab is a Jew not German.
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Also you can be both, no? Cannolis (talk) 04:15, 19 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Yes, as there is many articles with definition on WP.  scope_creep Talk  11:41, 19 January 2023 (UTC)

Using primary sources for mainstream content
Hi Folks!! This year can we not use primary sources for mainstream content, for example, life decisions, major events, book launches, turns in career and so on. Last year lots of textual content was removed from the article due to the use primary sources, in many instances attributed to Schwab himself. It is a WP:BLP, so really needs WP:SECONDARY sources, which the article is severly lacking. Thanks.  scope_creep Talk  11:49, 19 January 2023 (UTC)

Awards and honours edit - include honorary degrees.
Can you please add in the following line to the 'Awards and honours' sections: Schwab has also received several honorary degrees from universities around the world including the National University of Singapore  and Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania. SFgold1234! (talk) 09:45, 9 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Pictogram voting comment.svg Note: Added, but removed some of the puff such as "several" and "around the world." CNMall41 (talk) 23:10, 24 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done CNMall41 (talk) 23:10, 24 May 2023 (UTC)

Target of conspiracy theories
I would estimate that at this point, Schwab is almost as well known as a target of conspiracy theories as for the WEF. It seems strange that this article doesn't mention that at all, a la George Soros. Jdcooper (talk) 20:11, 22 January 2024 (UTC)
 * To clarify, I don't mean "strange" in a conspiracy theory way! More as in, a completeness way. Jdcooper (talk) 20:12, 22 January 2024 (UTC)
 * I concur. This seems odd to me. 173.196.252.165 (talk) 20:47, 7 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Agreed. I came here to say the same thing. Nothing about his "you will own nothing and like it" statement and other similar ideology. I guess we have one more example of Wikipedia's bias. 2600:1700:BC01:9B0:E194:638B:E89E:898A (talk) 01:46, 24 February 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 22 February 2024
Please change Klaus Schwab to deceased Feb 22 2024 2001:1970:50A4:8E00:D12A:64D1:8C04:D804 (talk) 11:58, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. - FlightTime  ( open channel ) 12:00, 22 February 2024 (UTC)