The president and CEO of the World Economic Forum quit Thursday over his ties to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Former Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende resigned after the US Justice Department’s latest batch of Epstein files showed that he attended dinners at the creep’s Manhattan home in 2018 and 2019.
Brende said he decided to go after “careful consideration” so that the World Economic Forum — the annual shindig for the global elite held in the Swiss town of Davos — “can continue its important work without distractions.”
The 60-year-old previously said he was “completely unaware of Epstein’s past and criminal activities.”
Epstein, a jet-setting financier who was arrested on sex-trafficking charges in July 2019, died in jail as he awaited trial, with officials ruling that it was a suicide.
He pleaded guilty in 2008 to solicitation of prostitution with a minor under age 18.
WEF co-chairs Andre Hoffmann, a Swiss billionaire, and Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, announced the leadership shake-up.
They said an internal review had found “no additional concerns beyond what has been previously disclosed.”
It is the latest blow to the WEF after the departure of its founder and former chair, Klaus Schwab, amid allegations surrounding the forum’s workplace culture in April last year. He was cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation.
The World Economic Forum is held in the Swiss Alps every January. It attracts titans from global politics, finance, business and sports who discuss what they see as the hot topics for the coming year.
Critics say the gathering in neutral Switzerland is nothing more than a shadowy, elitist talking shop that is detached from the lives of ordinary people.
Fink openly mused last month about a change of venue for the flagship event, considering locations such as Detroit, Dublin, Jakarta and Buenos Aires.
Brende is the latest high-profile name to be toppled over his ties to Epstein.
Former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland was hospitalized Tuesday after a suicide attempt amid an Epstein-linked corruption investigation.
Britain’s ex-Prince Andrew was also stripped of his royal titles by Buckingham Palace after fresh details about his close relationship with Epstein emerged. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office — again linked to Epstein.
