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Young Global Leaders

Website:

https://www.younggloballeaders.org/
Location:

Geneva, Switzerland
Type:

Project of the World Economic Forum
Founded:

2004
Founder:

Klaus Schwab

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Young Global Leaders is a program of the World Economic Forum (WEF), a business league that primarily organizes annual meetings of international business and political leaders in Davos, Switzerland. It aims to create a network of potential leaders in business, technology, education, activism, journalism, and politics. 1 2

The program, founded by Klaus Schwab, received criticism when he admitted to “penetrat[ing]” governments with Young Global Leaders, adding that as of 2017 “more than half” of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet had been members of the program. 3

Background

Young Global Leaders (YGL), also known as the Forum of Young Global Leaders, is an initiative of the World Economic Forum, a business league that primarily organizes annual meetings of international business and political leaders in Davos, Switzerland former University of Geneva business professor and WEF founder Klaus Schwab. 4

The initiative was created in 2004 by Schwab, who aimed to create a “multistakeholder community” of “next-generation leaders” in business, technology, education, activism, journalism, and politics. The aim of curating the YGL community was so that admitted members could “inform and influence” decisions in those sectors. 5

Financials

Young Global Leaders is a program of the World Economic Forum, which had a total revenue of $338 million according to its tax returns from 2018 to 2019. WEF received approximately $18.5 million from contributions and grants, just under $300 million from program services, and around $20 million from investments and other revenue. In total, the World Economic Forum reported $316 million in expenses from 2018 to 2019, just under $140 million of which was spent on salaries, compensation, and other employee benefits. WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab earned more than $1.1 million in 2019 from reportable compensation from the organization. 6

Although there is no financial information for Young Global Leaders, it does list its “supporters” on its website. These supporters include the financial services corporation Mastercard, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and David Rubenstein, the co-founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group, a large private equity firm. 7

Controversy

During an interview in 2017, Klaus Schwab noted that several world leaders have been Young Global Leaders, including then-German chancellor Angela Merkel and authoritarian Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Schwab added that “we are very proud” of the “young generation,” which included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 8

Schwab continued by noting that the World Economic Forum, through its Young Global Leader program, “penetrate[s]” governments across the world. Schwab admitted that when he was at a “reception” for Prime Minister Trudeau, he knew that “more than half of his cabinet, are actually Young Global Leaders.” Schwab also stated that the then-incumbent governments of Argentina and France were similar and that French President Emmanuel Macron was also a Young Global Leader. 9 10

Members

YGL has approximately 1,400 members and alumni across 120 nationalities. Members include people who work in business, technology, education, activism, journalism, and politics, among other sectors.

Members of the “Young Global Leaders Community” include or have included: 11

References

  1. The Forum of Young Global Leaders. Accessed June 13, 2022. www.younggloballeaders.org/.
  2. “Vision & Mission.” Forum of Young Global Leaders. Accessed June 13, 2022. www.younggloballeaders.org/vision-and-mission.
  3. Corcoran, Terence. “In Canada, follow the money + the ideas.” Financial Post. February 18, 2022. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://financialpost.com/opinion/terence-corcoran-in-canada-follow-the-money-the-ideas.
  4. Forum of Young Global Leaders. Accessed June 13, 2022. www.younggloballeaders.org/.
  5. [1] “Vision & Mission.”  Forum of Young Global Leaders. Accessed June 13, 2022. www.younggloballeaders.org/vision-and-mission.
  6. “World Economic Forum Tax Return – 2018/2019.” https://pp-990.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/06_2021_prefixes_95-99/980459408_201906_990O_2021060718273400.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA266MJEJYTM5WAG5Y%2F20220613%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20220613T193142Z&X-Amz-Expires=1800&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=8a783529e39d9780229a38d32f79604758b94be37db50304f6acf8f416f5793a.
  7. “Supporters.”  Forum of Young Global Leaders. Accessed June 13, 2022. www.younggloballeaders.org/supporters.
  8. Corcoran, Terence. “In Canada, follow the money + the ideas.” Financial Post. February 18, 2022. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://financialpost.com/opinion/terence-corcoran-in-canada-follow-the-money-the-ideas.
  9. Corcoran, Terence. “In Canada, follow the money + the ideas.” Financial Post. February 18, 2022. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://financialpost.com/opinion/terence-corcoran-in-canada-follow-the-money-the-ideas.
  10. “Klaus Schwab/HARVARD Talk/ Trudeau Cabinet & others ‘penetrated.’” YouTube. January 26, 2022. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4cDNyvrP40&ab_channel=JHOC.
  11. “Community.” The Forum of Young Global Leaders. World Economic Forum. Accessed June 22, 2022. https://www.younggloballeaders.org/community.
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