Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Aug 2016.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Who runs it and what they're paid
56 people listed on the 990; $16.1M paid to officers and key staff.
Borge Brende’s $1.6M as President of Managing Board is at the 99th percentile of top reported officer pay among 88 $100M+ international nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borge Brende | $1,611,805 | $1,667,668 | $1,376,903 | $959,076 | $1,054,313 | $995,976 |
| Sarita Nayyar | — | $1,493,234 | $747,571 | $744,743 | $734,402 | $690,862 |
| Klaus Schwab | $1,135,074 | $1,112,347 | $1,047,121 | $1,006,575 | $1,171,459 | $1,106,640 |
| Jeremy Jurgens | $1,021,566 | $1,001,112 | $942,408 | $730,514 | $798,722 | $725,185 |
| Murat Sonmez | — | — | — | $927,685 | $752,459 | $716,945 |
| David Aikman | — | — | — | $889,907 | $637,593 | $619,427 |
| Saadia Zahidi | $856,980 | $834,260 | $803,394 | $716,992 | $697,551 | $565,393 |
| Gim Huay Neo | $851,305 | $834,260 | $855,750 | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Improves the world by fostering public-private cooperation.
Questions for World Economic Forum
Your first name shows with your question. World Economic Forum answers here, for everyone.
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Meetings the forum hosts a variety of meetings on an annual basis including the annual meeting in davos, an annual meeting of new champions in china, and multiple regional meetings around the world.
Reports the forum conducts research and issues substantive reports and whitepapers that focus on the intersections between geopolitics, economics, technology, and society. The research activities have included economic competitiveness, global risks, gender parity, and security, emphasizing benchmarking strategic foresight, and sharing…
Business networks and initiatives the forum has developed a number of partnership networks that are designed to link businesses based on different characteristics, such as region or industry. Additionally, the forum sponsors initiatives that encourage public-private partnerships to tackle global issues.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $174.6M | $277.7M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $480.8M | $475.8M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $117.7M | $119.0M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $860.9M | $963.8M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $392.4M | $448.8M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $468.4M | $515.0M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $0 | |||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $0 | |||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $0 | |||
| Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4 | $0 | |||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $18.8M | |||
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $264K | |||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $178.2M | |||
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $17.2M | |||
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $26.0M | |||
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $1.7M | |||
| Management feesLn 11a | $265K | |||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $33.7M | |||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $903K | |||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $0 | |||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $0 | |||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $0 | |||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $44.3M | |||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $0 | |||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $13.6M | |||
| Information technologyLn 14 | $35.6M | |||
| RoyaltiesLn 15 | $0 | |||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $18.8M | |||
| TravelLn 17 | $31.9M | |||
| Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18 | $0 | |||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $59.8M | |||
| InterestLn 20 | $0 | |||
| Payments to affiliatesLn 21 | $0 | |||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $8.4M | |||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $519K | |||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $26.2M | |||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $516.4M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $528.8M | $516.4M | $12.5M | $515.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $442.5M | $438.4M | $4.1M | $468.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $401.6M | $382.0M | $19.6M | $465.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $370.4M | $315.0M | $55.4M | $427.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $313.7M | $276.1M | $37.6M | $426.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $360.6M | $336.5M | $24.2M | $379.4M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $528,837,504 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 29 of 30 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $528,837,504 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $516,366,612 across 30 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $963,758,243 assets, 24 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $514,996,671 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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