Millions Respond to Poll Asking If World Economic Forum Should ‘Control the World’

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, delivers a welcome message on the eve of the annual meeting of the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 20, 2020. Markus Schreiber/AP Photo

The results are in of a poll initiated by Elon Musk, who asked Twitter users to vote on whether they think the global elite gathering World Economic Forum (WEF) should “control the world.”

Musk ran the poll as the WEF’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland—which features a host of international leaders, central bankers, Wall Street executives, and celebrities—kicked off earlier this week.

With over 2.4 million Twitter users voting, the poll shows that a whopping 86 percent don’t think that the globalist elites should “control the world.”

Musk has repeatedly poked fun at the elite gathering in Davos, which has become a lightning rod of criticism, especially by those who take a dim view of globalization.

Critics of the WEF often claim that the organization is working to control the world through its influence on global politics and economy. They typically argue that WEF’s focus on globalization and its promotion of neoliberal economic policies are evidence of this goal.

Additionally, some critics of the WEF view with disdain its exclusive, invitation-only membership and its annual meeting in Davos, which reinforces the organization’s elitist veneer.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at a gaming convention in Los Angeles, Calif., on June 13, 2019. Mike Blake/Reuters

‘You’ll Own Nothing. And You‘ll Be Happy’

In one of his posts on Twitter, Musk commented on an article that references the infamous WEF-associated slogan “You‘ll own nothing. And you’ll be happy.”

“I guess there’s value to having a mixed government & commercial forum of some kind. WEF does kinda give me the willies though, but I’m sure everything is fine,” Musk wrote in a Sunday post on Twitter, responding to a Substack article co-written by independent journalists Michael Shellenberger and Izabella Kaminska.

In the article, Shellenberger and Kaminska called out WEF managing director Adrian Monck, who blamed the uproar surrounding the “you’ll own nothing” ad on right-wing reactionaries posting on online forums.

Monck penned an opinion piece in the Canadian outlet The Globe and Mail last August, calling the backlash a “misinformation campaign that targeted the World Economic Forum.”

WEF has been the subject of considerable criticism for its 2016 ad campaign, which stated, “Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better.”

Many critics objected to the organization’s attempt to frame a lack of personal ownership and privacy as something positive, with the ad generating a tidal wave of memes, many centering on the slogan: “You’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy.”

Initially accompanied by a promotional video and several articles, much of the campaign’s content has since been removed from the internet.

A WEF post on Twitter expressing that idea remains online, while a video featuring eight predictions for 2030 can still be viewed on the internet. The video contains the infamous tag line: “You’ll own nothing. And you’ll be happy.”

Spotlight on Schwab

Besides taking a dim view of the WEF gathering, anti-globalists often criticize WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab for promoting a globalist agenda and for being an elitist who wants to centralize control of world affairs.

They argue that he is working to undermine national sovereignty and the ability of countries to make their own decisions.

Critics say that Schwab is promoting a one-world government agenda and that the WEF is working to create a global governance structure that is controlled by a small group of powerful individuals and corporations.

They also accuse him of promoting neoliberal economic policies that benefit the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the working class and poor.

World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab delivers a speech during a session of the WEF annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 17, 2023. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

The WEF says its mission is to improve the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.

As the five-day marathon of panel discussions and talks in Davos came to its conclusion on Jan. 20, Boerge Brende, WEF president, said in concluding remarks that world leaders and economic actors have made “progress” on the world’s most important issues.

“The greatest lesson of the week has been that although the world is more fragmented today, it does not need to be tomorrow,” Brende said. “By coming together, like this, we can shape a more collaborative future.”

Some 52 heads of state or government, 19 central bank governors, and over 600 CEOs took part in the gathering in the Swiss town.

Kevin Stocklin contributed to this report.