Klaus Schwab won't be given honorary citizenship, according to a report by Swiss daily «Suedostschweiz» (in German, behind paywall). The German native has been a Swiss resident since the early 1960s, when he studied engineering and economics in Zurich and Fribourg before in 1971 founding the World Economic Forum, an annual alpine meeting in Davos.

The 81-year-old still presides over the annual glitzy event, which draws a coterie of elite from business and politics to the alpine village to hobnob will billionaires every January. He and the event have become a lightning rod for critics of income inequality.

Settled Swiss Way

Schwab, a long-time resident of Geneva where the WEF juggernaut is based, apparently never applied for Swiss citizenship. But efforts to mark the WEF's 50th anniversary by granting him honorary papers have foundered – due to lack of legal basis in Switzerland for such a move, the newspaper reported.

The proposal was settled the Swiss way: in a meeting with representatives of federal and cantonal governments as well as officials from Davos, which awarded Schwab a symbolic honorary passport 20 years ago. WEF is so ubiquitous that a new cryptocurrency summit in St. Moritz is referred to as «Crypto WEF».