Klaus Schwab is the founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF). He has acted as the chairman of the organization since its inception in 1971. Klaus is also a mechanical engineer and an economist.
Klaus Schwab was born on March 30, 1938, in Ravensburg, Germany. The names of Schwab’s parents are Eugen Wilhelm Schwab and Erika Epprecht. His father was a baptized Lutheran, so he was raised Catholic. His full name is Klaus Martin Schwab.
Schwab is married to Hilde Schwab, who was his assistant in 1971. The couple married at Sertig Valley Reformed Church. They have two children named Nicole and Oliver.
Klaus Schwab Education
Klaus attended the initial first and second grades of his schooling in Switzerland, in Wadenswil, Zurich. After World War II, the Schwab family moved back to Germany. Klaus graduated as a mechanical engineer in 1961 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich; he earned a doctorate degree from there.
Later, he earned a doctorate degree in economics from the University of Fribourg. Klaus then pursued a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University.
Klaus Schwab’s Career
From 1972 to 2003, Klaus was a professor of business policy at the University of Geneva. In 1998, Schwab and Hilde, his wife, started the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.
Schwab founded the European Management Forum in 1971, which was later renamed the World Economic Forum in 1987. In 2011, Schwab founded the Global Shapers Community within the World Economic Forum, which was formed with a view to working with and shaping young people.
Klaus Schwab is a skilled man; he is also an author. He has co-authored many books with several authors. He wrote The Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the book received many views from different sections of society; some, including the Guardian, criticized the book, while others supported the author.
Schwab has received the French Legion of Honor award, the Grand Cross, the Order of the Rising Sun, and the Dan David Prize. In addition to that, he has received honorary degrees from various prestigious universities, such as the University of Singapore and Kaunas University of Technology.
Klaus Schwab’s Net Worth
Klaus Schwab started from scratch, and then he founded the World Economic Forum and worked hard to reach this stage in life. His net worth is estimated to be between $25 and $100 million.
Klaus is a multi-talented man who is an author as well. He is educated and intelligent, has earned many prestigious degrees, and has created a big name for himself on the national as well as international stage.
The World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a non-governmental organization that is based in Geneva, Switzerland. WEF was founded on January 24, 1971.
Klaus Schwab founded the WEF with the purpose of influencing global agendas and decision-making. He has created this organization with a view to generating public and private cooperation.