World Economic Forum

==Organization==
Headquartered in Cologny, the WEF also has offices in New York, Beijing and Tokyo. In January 2015, it was designated an NGO with "other international body" status by the Swiss Federal Government under the Swiss Host-State Act.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weforum.org/press/2015/01/world-economic-forum-gains-formal-status-in-switzerland|title=Press Release: World Economic Forum Gains Formal Status in Switzerland|date=23 January 2015|access-date=11 October 2018|archive-date=11 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011053821/https://www.weforum.org/press/2015/01/world-economic-forum-gains-formal-status-in-switzerland|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 10 October 2016, the WEF announced the opening of its new [[Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution]] in San Francisco. According to the WEF, the center will "serve as a platform for interaction, insight and impact on the scientific and technological changes that are changing the way we live, work and relate to one another".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weforum.org/press/2016/10/new-forum-center-to-advance-global-cooperation-on-fourth-industrial-revolution/|title=New Forum Center to Advance Global Cooperation on Fourth Industrial Revolution|website=World Economic Forum|access-date=20 November 2016|archive-date=20 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120152702/https://www.weforum.org/press/2016/10/new-forum-center-to-advance-global-cooperation-on-fourth-industrial-revolution/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The World Economic Forum claims to be [[impartial]] and that it is not tied to any political, [[partisan (political)|partisan]], or national interests. Until 2012, it had [[observer status]] with the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council]], when it was revoked; it is under the supervision of the [[Swiss Federal Council]]. The foundation's highest governance body is the foundation board.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weforum.org/content/leadership-team |title=The Leadership Team &#124; World Economic Forum-The Leadership Team |publisher=Weforum.org |access-date=3 August 2021 |archive-date=10 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810132951/http://www.weforum.org/content/leadership-team |url-status=live }}</ref>

The managing board is chaired by the WEF's president, [[Børge Brende]], and acts as the executive body of the World Economic Forum. Managing board members are Børge Brende, Julien Gattoni, Jeremy Jurgens, [[Adrian Monck]], Sarita Nayyar, Olivier M. Schwab, [[Saadia Zahidi]], and Alois Zwinggi.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weforum.org/about/leadership-and-governance|title=World Economic Forum, Governance and Leadership|access-date=3 August 2021|archive-date=21 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421194559/https://www.weforum.org/about/leadership-and-governance|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Board of trustees===
The WEF is chaired by founder and executive chairman Professor [[Klaus Schwab]] and is guided by a board of trustees that is made up of leaders from business, politics, academia and civil society. In 2010 the board was composed of: [[Josef Ackermann]], [[Peter Brabeck-Letmathe]], [[Kofi Annan]], Victor L. L. Chu, [[Tony Blair]], [[Michael Dell]], [[Niall FitzGerald]], [[Susan Hockfield]], [[Orit Gadiesh]], [[Christine Lagarde]], [[Carlos Ghosn]], [[Maurice Lévy (Publicis)|Maurice Lévy]], [[Rajat Gupta]], [[Indra Nooyi]], Peter D. Sutherland, Ivan Pictet, [[Heizō Takenaka]], [[Ernesto Zedillo]], Joseph P. Schoendorf and [[Queen Rania of Jordan]].<ref name=wef40/> Members of the board of trustees (past or present) include: [[Mukesh Ambani]], [[Marc Benioff]], [[Peter Brabeck-Letmathe]], [[Mark Carney]], [[Larry Fink|Laurence Fink]], [[Chrystia Freeland]], [[Orit Gadiesh]], [[Fabiola Gianotti]], [[Al Gore]], [[Herman Gref]], [[José Ángel Gurría]], [[André Hoffmann (businessman)|André Hoffmann]], [[Ursula von der Leyen]], [[Jack Ma]], [[Yo-Yo Ma]], [[Peter Maurer]], [[Luis Alberto Moreno]], [[Muriel Pénicaud]], [[Queen Rania of Jordan]], [[Leo Rafael Reif]], [[David Rubenstein]], [[Ulf Mark Schneider|Mark Schneider]], [[Klaus Schwab]], [[Tharman Shanmugaratnam]], [[Jim Hagemann Snabe]], [[Feike Sijbesma]], [[Heizō Takenaka]], [[Zhu Min (economist)|Zhu Min]].<ref name=botwef>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weforum.org/about/leadership-and-governance|title=World Economic Forum, Leadership and Governance|access-date=20 November 2019|archive-date=21 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421194559/https://www.weforum.org/about/leadership-and-governance|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=wefbot16>[https://www.weforum.org/press/2016/08/world-economic-forum-announces-new-board-of-trustees-2016/ World Economic Forum Announces New Board of Trustees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114184301/https://www.weforum.org/press/2016/08/world-economic-forum-announces-new-board-of-trustees-2016/ |date=14 January 2018 }} World Economic Forum, press release of 25 August 2016.</ref>

===Membership===
The foundation is funded by its 1,000 member companies, typically global enterprises with more than five billion dollars in turnover (varying by industry and region). These enterprises rank among the top companies within their industry and/or country and play a leading role in shaping the future of their industry and/or region. Membership is stratified by the level of engagement with forum activities, with the level of membership fees increasing as participation in meetings, projects, and initiatives rises.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weforum.org/members |title=Members &#124; World Economic Forum-Members |publisher=Weforum.org |access-date=22 January 2012 |archive-date=17 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117115853/http://www.weforum.org/members |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2011, an annual membership cost $52,000 for an individual member, $263,000 for "Industry Partner" and $527,000 for "Strategic Partner". An admission fee costs $19,000 per person.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Truth About Davos: Here's Why People Happily Pay $71,000+ To Come – And Why They'll Keep Paying More Every Year |website=Business Insider |date=26 January 2011 |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/costs-of-davos-2011-1 |access-date=24 January 2017 |archive-date=8 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108065945/http://www.businessinsider.com/costs-of-davos-2011-1 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2014, WEF raised annual fees by 20 percent, bringing the cost for "Strategic Partner" from CHF 500,000 ($523,000) to CHF 600,000 ($628,000).<ref>{{cite news |title=Sky-high Davos summit fees leave multinationals feeling deflated |newspaper=The Financial Times |date=10 October 2014 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e8a128cc-4fc8-11e4-a0a4-00144feab7de |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/e8a128cc-4fc8-11e4-a0a4-00144feab7de |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>