Why WEF Will Always Be Swiss

There is a hidden force that drives Davos.

Those who go the WEF’s Annual Meeting and even those who go unofficially, without the coveted white badge, will have felt that force and can testify to its existence.

It is real.

Judging by the millions spent on splashy lounges, branded giveaways and private jet flights, you might be tempted to think that money is the driving force.

And you would not be entirely wrong.

A short glance at the official guest list might convince you that big names like Donald Trump, Elon Musk, David Beckham or Larry Fink are the chief magnate that gives Davos its allure.

Certainly having such all-stars does not hurt.

The case could be made that WEF founder Klaus Schwab’s vision and force of character still hang in the frozen mountain air of Davos, even if he himself is not present.

There too, it would be hard to deny that Davos would not be Davos today without the man who got it all started.

And yet, these factors do not fully encapsulate the essence of what makes Davos so irresistible, so unique - and so valuable.

There is something that does, however.

It is Switzerland.

When Klaus Schwab launched what would become an elite organization back in 1971, he did so in a country that was not his own.

The German chose Switzerland - a neutral country in the center of Europe with a reputation for stability, discretion and quality.

Turns out, his European Management Forum, as it started out, morphed into a prime exhibit of what Switzerland itself stands for.

But even more than the fact that both Switzerland and the Forum can rightfully claim the title of “elite” and “secretive”, the backstory of WEF highlights how organic growth and a passionate founder can create something without compare.

Over 50 years, Schwab and his associates - along with the many figures that came to swear by going to Davos - crafted an event that was tailor-made to the needs of world leaders. WEF in Davos became a bespoke suit, cut and stitched with toil and care, so that it would be more unique than anyone could ever imagine.

Sure, New York or London would be bigger and more comfortable. Hong Kong or Dubai would certainly be attractive.

But putting the WEF’s Annual Meeting in a tower made of glass and steel would be like donning a Zara sport jacket after having worn a Saville Row suit all your life.

Some complain about space and prices - and even the food in the 5-star hotels that line the Promenade.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went so far as announce his preference for “bugs and insects” over Swiss cuisine. Others complain about the snow on the streets, the miles-long traffic jams and the chalets that aren’t the same as the Waldorf Astoria.

But rawness is the point.

To re-create what Davos is in another location would automatically snuff out the spontaneity and the authenticity that makes it special.

Some elements might be reproducible in another environment, one with more space and more souther briskit.

But commercialization has a way of kiling things, even if sometimes unintentionally. No one doubts, of course, that money makes Davos click. The millions spent on company lounges prove that.

But a veneer of middle managers overseeing a WEF makeover in another metropolis would never be able to inspire the same sense of uniqueness.

Behind everything that makes Davos what it is, stands a machine that for over 50 years has oiled itself into a master mechanism for creating headlines and creating FOMO, inspiring dialogue and debate and bringing the wealthiest and most powerful together in one small mountain town.

Switzerland - for all its shyness and its occasional backwardness - is what makes Davos what it is.

Any other nation, any other place, any other concept would ruin thing completely.