In 2019, Dutch historian Rutger Bregman went viral for his on-stage criticism of the event

Meet Klaus Schwab, the founder and driving force behind Davos

Klaus Schwab founded the World Economic Forum in 1971 and spent five decades promoting stakeholder capitalism and cross-sector cooperation among elites. Under his leadership, Davos became a hub for global power brokers. Schwab stepped down from the role in April 2025 amid accusations of misconduct.

‘A Spirit of Dialogue’ is the theme of Davos 2026

Each year, Davos introduces a new overarching theme to guide the discussions at the event. The 2026 World Economic Forum theme is intended to spark conversation around global challenges including cooperation in a contested world, investing in people, deploying innovation responsibly at scale, building prosperity within planetary boundaries, and more.

Ray Dalio argues that American capitalism is broken, citing economic factors like a growing wealth divide

Dalio also points to stalling income growth, weak healthcare systems, and poor educational outcomes when arguing that American capitalism needs serious reform. However, critics point out that Dalio has amassed a large fortune by running the world's largest hedge fund and question whether Dalio really wants economic reform.

Watch Ray Dalio's TED Talk on building an 'idea meritocracy'

In 2017, Dalio gave a TED Talk called "How to Build a Company Where the Best Ideas Win," which largely focused on Bridgewater's highly documented company culture and leadership principles. Dalio's TED Talk focused on one of his most well-known principles, "radical transparency," as a way to create an idea meritocracy.

A group of billionaires and millionaires wants to pay more taxes

Hundreds of billionaires and millionaires have signed a letter called “Proud to Pay More,” in which they ask world leaders to tax the wealthiest individuals more than they currently do. The group, which includes Disney heir Abigail Disney and Valerie Rockefeller, re-upped their call at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year. Learn about the “Proud to Pay More” letter in this article.

A Wall Street Journal podcast examines allegations inside the WEF

In this episode of "The Journal," WSJ reporter Shalini Ramachandran investigates claims from current and former employees that the organization behind Davos fostered a toxic workplace, sparked by an anonymous whistleblower letter in 2025 and internal accounts.

Airbnb's Brian Chesky explains 'Founder Mode' and how he took back control

The short-term rental CEO learned hard lessons through the pandemic, specifically around a culture focused on management and not building products. In the fall of 2024, Chesky gave a well-received speech at a startup conference that prompted debate in the startup world. He summarizes the talk here.

Greta Thunberg addressed Davos at 16 years old

In 2019, 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg took the Davos stage to sharply criticize global leaders for failing to act on climate change, warning that incremental promises were meaningless without immediate, systemic action.

Deemed the 'Woodstock for Capitalists,' Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting draws thousands of attendees

They all gather to hear from Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha” himself, as he answers questions from investors. Some even run a 5K while they’re there.

Why some nations reach economic success and others don’t

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics winners, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson, were honored for their compelling research on the factors that influence a nation’s prosperity. Spanning two decades, their work presents insights into how societal organization can explain the income discrepancies between different countries. In general, their research shows that economic success favors more free and open societies. Listen for more fascinating insights.

How to make a billion dollars, with Brad Jacobs

Brad Jacobs is a serial entrepreneur who has launched eight billion-dollar enterprises during his storied financial career. With companies focused in energy, waste, and more, Jacobs has stuck to a roll-up playbook of consolidating small players into one conglomerate within an industry, a common tactic of similar private equity firms. This podcast from Founders summarizes Jacobs' book detailing his approach.

Jeff Bezos launched his philanthropic ‘Bezos Day One Fund’ in 2018 with his then-wife, Mackenzie Scott

The fund focuses on promoting education and reducing homelessness. This article compares Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ philanthropic initiatives to those of other billionaires, including Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

Why donors love to give to the wealthy schools

In this podcast episode of Revisionist History, Malcolm Gladwell explores why Hank Rowan’s $100 million gift to a small New Jersey college didn’t inspire others to support underfunded schools. Instead, donors continue to flock to elite institutions like Harvard and Stanford. “My Little Hundred Million” examines ways ideology and prestige have reshaped educational giving.

Will smart cities widen the divide between rich and poor?

Author of the book "Uneven Innovation" talks about the need for intention when planning smart cities to avoid unintentionally creating inequality. This hour-long podcast delves into the impact of privatizing public services, community engagement,...

Critics say Burning Man pollutes and promotes elitism

Following the storms and extreme circumstances of the 2023 Burning Man, discourse has circulated about elitism, pollution, and more problems brought by the festival.

Silicon Valley’s reign over tech, money, and politics

Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, and others are getting into politics. From Musk’s role in President Trump’s second term to Hoffman’s spending on former Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign, more tech CEOs are expanding into politics. This podcast episode by WBUR and American Public Media discusses what the impact could be with so many tech figures engaging in American politics. Listen here.

‘Tulip mania’ may have been the first financial bubble. It still shapes markets today

This podcast revisits tulip mania, the 1630s Dutch craze where rare bulbs were briefly traded like luxury assets. It unpacks the myths surrounding the event and shows how its legend continues to shape modern perceptions of financial bubbles.

Hank Green on the problem with being a creator

YouTuber Hank Green takes over The Financial Diet's platform to talk about the creator economy. He walks the audience through the financial decisions involved when making content. He also describes brand deals, and who actually owns the content posted on social media platforms—the creator or the platform itself?

Modern monetary theory argues that governments can spend more without worrying about debt

In this discussion, economists Stephanie Kelton and Rohan Grey join Jon Stewart to explain modern monetary theory and debate whether expansive government spending can address inequality and economic crises without traditional debt constraints.

Comedic roasts, an ironic inversion of toasting, took off in the 20th century

Ribbing amongst friends likely goes back to the dawn of man, but formalizing the act caught on with fundraisers held by the Friar’s Club, a New York organization for theater agents. Rather than raising their glasses to good fortune and health, comics eviscerate an “honoree”—along with everyone else on stage—though they usually conclude with an earnest toast.

History’s largest intergenerational wealth transfer is happening in the next few decades

The founder of a multifamily office firm offers lessons on how to preserve wealth for generations from a global perspective, like educating younger family members.

Harvard awarded Mark Zuckerberg an honorary degree in 2017

Mark Zuckerberg received an honorary degree from Harvard when he returned to the university to give a commencement speech. In his speech, he talked about wealth, racial inequality, political instability, and creating a sense of purpose.

Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin was surprised by the emergence of NFTs

Scams have pervaded the NFT space and made critics question their legitimacy, but proponents believe their use cases could one day extend to real estate and credit scores.

Norman Rockwell's 'Freedom of Speech' has become an internet meme

The famous painting, which portrays a man in work clothes speaking up in a crowd of men in suits, has become a companion image for internet users posting unpopular or controversial opinions. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Watch a conservative icon interview Allen Ginsberg

At the height of the hippie movement, the conservative commentator and founder of National Review, William F. Buckley Jr., invited poet Allen Ginsberg to help him make sense of the countercultural moment. Over the course of a surreal hour, Ginsberg tries to find common ground with a skeptical Buckley.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

A vending machine run with Anthropic's AI went out of business after it was convinced to give away items for free and sell a video game console.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

The tragic Pulitzer Prize-winning image 'The Vulture and the Little Girl' (1993) generated controversy, raised concerns about ethics in photography, and eventually led to the photographer's death.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

The 2026 Ebola outbreak in the DRC is spurring new Ebola vaccine development for the Bundibugyo species.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.