"You'll own nothing and you'll be happy" is a phrase published by the World Economic Forum and based on a 2016 essay by the Danish politician Ida Auken about a future in which a person relies on the s
A screenshot, frequently shared and disseminated by critics, of a WEF promotional video featuring the phrase
Photos of Klaus Schwab, founder of the WEF, are often used to illustrate the phrase online especially in memes.
Klaus Schwab
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Klaus Martin Schwab is a German mechanical engineer, economist, and founder of the World Economic Forum. He was the WEF's chairman from 1971 until his resignation in 2025.
You'll own nothing and be happy
…dystopian". EDRi criticized Auken's vision of centralized property ownership as a "benevolent dictatorship". Reaction during COVID pandemic Photos of Klaus Schwab, founder of the WEF, are often used to illustrate the phrase online especially in memes. Although Auken's essay was published more than three years…
Schwab in 2011
Schwab (rightmost) opens the inaugural European Management Forum in Davos in 1971.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Schwab shaking hands at the World Economic Forum Russia CEO Roundtable in June 2007