Klaus Schwab on Davos, power and why trust is breaking down

Reflecting on decades of work to make the world a better place. That is where Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi finds World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Dr. Klaus Schwab, who just published a new book dubbed Restoring Truth and Trust. In a new episode of the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast, Schwab reflects on the origins of WEF and its evolving role in a rapidly changing global landscape. He emphasizes that the Forum — which he founded in 1971 — was created to foster dialogue between business, government, and civil society, arguing that complex global challenges cannot be solved by any single sector acting alone. Schwab says this principle of multistakeholder cooperation remains central to the WEF’s mission today. Of course, Schwab’s reflective moment comes against the backdrop of his absence from the epicenter of the 2026 annual meeting he created in Davos, Switzerland, which brought together billionaires like Salesforce (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff and Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, and world leaders like US President Trump. Schwab resigned from the WEF in April 2025 amid an investigation into its culture. Schwab was cleared of any wrongdoing before the end of 2025, but the Forum is now being led primarily by BlackRock (BLK) founder Larry Fink. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves, and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor, before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid Unfiltered at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Please email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered is hosted by Brian Sozzi and produced by Langston Sessoms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices