phrase used by critics of the World Economic Forum
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › You'll_own_nothing_and_be_happy
You'll own nothing and be happy - Wikipedia
3 weeks ago - "You'll own nothing and you'll ... happy") is a phrase published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and based on a 2016 essay by the Danish politician Ida Auken about a future in which a hypothetical person relies on the sharing economy for many of their needs....
Reddit
reddit.com › r/intj › what do you think of the idea "you will own nothing and be happy about it"
r/intj on Reddit: What do you think of the idea "you will own nothing and be happy about it"
September 4, 2025 -
I think this idea can only work in a society that has less wealth gap and people have somewhat similar purchasing power. Also when it's about communal services like communal libraries by a government.
However in case of certain goods it won't work like someone's house or anything essential.
Unfortunately this idea is used to promote unnecessary subscription.
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Those exerting control over things you are not allowed to own anymore will be the happy ones. Not you.
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I like owning things. I worked for it and therefore now have it and nobody else has a right to it. Sure things like health care, infrastructure etc can be common good. But I definitely wouldn't be happy to own nothing.
Videos
Know Your Meme
knowyourmeme.com › memes › youll-own-nothing-and-be-happy
You'll Own Nothing and Be Happy | Know Your Meme
November 13, 2025 - You'll Own Nothing and Be Happy (originally You'll Own Nothing and You'll Be Happy) is a catchphrase originating from a 2016 essay by Danish MP Ida Auken which was included in the video "8 Predictions for the World in 2030" by the World Economic ...
Reddit
reddit.com › r/nostupidquestions › you will own nothing and you will be happy
r/NoStupidQuestions on Reddit: You will own nothing and you will be happy
August 7, 2024 -
I was discussing the state of the world with a friend and remembered that the World Economic Forum predicted that by 2030, we will own nothing and be happy about it. How realistic is this prediction, and what would that scenario look like? Also, why do they believe we will be happy owning nothing?
Top answer 1 of 23
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The idea was that people would avoid large purchases in favor of renting whatever they want when they need it. Note that this was not a prediction by the forum, it was a fictional speech given at the Forum by one person trying to make a point.
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Think about subscription fees that you pay now as opposed to what you were paying 10-20 years ago. Subscription fees do not constitute ownership.
Reuters
reuters.com › article › world › fact-check-the-world-economic-forum-does-not-have-a-stated-goal-to-have-people-idUSKBN2AP2SP
Fact check: The World Economic Forum does not have a stated goal to have people own nothing by 2030 | Reuters
February 25, 2021 - As addressed in previous Reuters fact checks, these claims likely originated from a WEF social media video from 2016 that stated eight predictions about the world in 2030, including: “You’ll own nothing.
Amazon
amazon.com › You-Will-Own-Nothing-Financial › dp › 0063304937
You Will Own Nothing: Your War with a New Financial World Order and How to Fight Back―The Dark Future of a World Without Ownership: Roth, Carol: 9780063304932: Amazon.com: Books
When Carol Roth first heard that one of the World Economic Forum’s predictions for 2030 was “You will own nothing, and be happy,” she thought it was an outlandish fantasy. Then, she researched it.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/anticonsumption › i'm annoyed by the way "you will own nothing and be happy" is overused
r/Anticonsumption on Reddit: I'm annoyed by the way "you will own nothing and be happy" is overused
February 13, 2024 -
Seriously. I think it angers me because it can be used to critique both anticonsumer practices in form of endless subscriptions and socially shared things (which are good for anticonsumption movement). I hear this from reactionists and conservatives a lot and I think they are ruining its meaning.
To adress what I mean by stupidness of this argument:
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I go to public swimming pool instead of building one myself. You will own nothing and be happy.
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Then I jump to public jaccuzi instead of buying my own. You will own nothing and be happy.
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I use taxis since 70s. You will own nothing and be happy.
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I go to laundromat because I don't need a whole machine for one person. You will own nothing and be happy.
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I read books at library because I prefer to lend them and save money. You will own nothing and be happy.
etc.
Top answer 1 of 5
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The original quote meant that you would be a lifelong renter and was assuring you that the loss of freedom would be in your interest somehow.
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I have almost never heard it used in the context of the examples you've listed. Those are community services that are tangible and valuable and people can still buy those things if they want to. I think it's more about the subscription services talking over everything which itself is super unsustainable, when you can pay for a DVD once and watch it as many times as you want even if the internet isn't working or you can't afford internet. You can pay to 'buy a movie on a streaming service and they can still take it away when the licensing changes And the fact that home ownership is not available to many since cooperations but all the homes then write articles about how people prefer renting over owning.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/nostupidquestions › what did klaus schwab mean by "you will own nothing and be happy"
r/NoStupidQuestions on Reddit: What did klaus schwab mean by "you will own nothing and be happy"
August 28, 2022 -
I have a lot of conspiracy nutjobs in my family, so usually when they give me a quote like this I just disregard it as either false, or grossly lacking in context. But I actually found out today that he did indeed say this and any attempt to find out more about it, has lead me to nonsense "new world order" articles that I will not entertain at all.
So what is the supposed meaning behind this statement?
Top answer 1 of 4
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The phrase comes from an article written in 2016 by a Danish MP about what the world could look like in 2030 given the rising trend of goods being rendered as services through phone apps. Basically, a world where everything is rented as and when it is needed. Public transport has been made free so owning a car is pointless. Owning a home is silly when you can rent and move somewhere else whenever you want. Shopping is a thing of the past when food is delivered to your door along with clothes and appliances as and when you need them. This means you have far more choice and you don't clutter up your home with products your rarely use. Why spend a lot of money buying a set of clothes for your wardrobe when you have the choice of an infinitely huge range delivered to your door? It's similar to choosing between paying $70 to buy a single video game or paying next to nothing to have access to all the games that have ever existed. Netflix instead of DVDs for example. The benefits of all this extend to the environment. We would use far fewer raw materials to make things. Manufacturers would be incentivised to make long-lasting products over disposable ones that clog up landfills. Pollution would be reduced and people would wonder why we didn't do all this sooner. People would be happy to live this way as their lives would be better. On the other side, privacy becomes a thing of the past. Everything we do is constantly tracked, monitored, and logged. There is also a the creation of a new underclass of people who do not have access to this lifestyle. Those who live 'outside the city'. The piece wasn't written as a utopian dream or a dystopian nightmare. It was created to stir debate and discussion about the direction the world is heading in. It is certainly a world with numerous benefits, but is it the kind of world we really want? Do the positives outweigh the negatives? Can we even stop this all from happening anyway or should we learn how to live in this new reality? The article went pretty unnoticed for several years until the start of the pandemic and people started to wonder what the world would look like on the other side. Pretty much everyone accepted that things WOULD be very different, but how? Some people believed that there would be a "great reset" where powerful rich people would work to reshape the world for their benefit. One way would be to shift society even further into one where only the super rich actually own anything and all the rest of us rent everything we need from them. Much like in the article. We might well believe we are happy but it would be a guilded cage. Klaus Schwab most likely used the phrase because he saw the utopian side of the article where people have far more access to products and services than under the existing model where we buy and own everything we need. Massively reduced pollution and waste. More efficient cities. A happier population. The cynics saw this as a powerful elite "saying the quiet part out loud". Openly admitting the elite want a world where they literally own everything and we plebs live day-to-day by their good grace, having every private detail of our lives scrutinised by them. https://web.archive.org/web/20200919102818/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/11/shopping-i-can-t-really-remember-what-that-is?utm_content=bufferbd339&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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Everything will be socially shared in a way that you're able to make peace with. For example, those electric scooters in cities you can take whenever you want. People are happy with the state of those things, and don't own them. Imagine if everything was like that.
Quora
quora.com › The-World-Economic-Forum-says-by-2030-you-will-own-nothing-and-you-will-still-be-happy-and-a-Great-Reset-will-occur-after-COVID-19-What-do-they-mean
The World Economic Forum says by 2030, you will own nothing and you will (still) be happy and a 'Great Reset' will occur after COVID-19. What do they mean? - Quora
Answer (1 of 66): It's simply a prediction made on the future based on things that are already happening. It's no more controversial than to say.: In 2030 we'll have flying cars. In fact most of the “scary stuff" people are so hysterical about are just predictions of what will happen, and there a...
Wiktionary
en.wiktionary.org › wiki › you_will_own_nothing_and_be_happy
you will own nothing and be happy - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
You'll own nothing and be ... be happy · A prediction made by the World Economic Forum, suggesting a future where individuals will primarily have access to goods and services rather than owning them, relying on shared services for their daily needs....
Facebook
facebook.com › worldeconomicforum › videos › 8-predictions-for-the-world-in-2030 › 10153920524981479
8 predictions for the world in 2030 | You'll own nothing, and you'll be happy. This is how our world could change by 2030. Read more: http://wef.ch/2gmBN7M | By World Economic Forum | Facebook
You'll own nothing, and you'll be happy. This is how our world could change by 2030. Read more: http://wef.ch/2gmBN7M
Missingmiddleinitiative
missingmiddleinitiative.ca › p › youll-own-nothing-and-be-happy-is
You’ll Own Nothing and Be Happy: Is That Our Future?
January 23, 2026 - Cara Stern: So when people see the goal of the World Economic Forum, which was outlined in a famous, or rather infamous, piece, “Welcome to 2030” with the line, “you will own nothing and you’ll be happy” — is that where we’re actually headed?
Medium
medium.com › yardcouch-com › you-will-own-nothing-and-be-happy-now-great-reset-2cb6ec88c732
You Will Own Nothing And Be Happy Now (Great Reset) | by Isaiah McCall | Yard Couch | Medium
July 16, 2022 - You will own nothing and you will be happy. This may sound like a crazy idea, but it’s something that more and more people are starting to believe in. In an article published in Forbes by the World Economic Forum, the authors talk about how we will eventually live in a system where your whole life is subscription-based and only the very rich will own any personal property.
Quora
quora.com › What-does-Klaus-Schawb-mean-by-You-will-own-nothing-and-be-happy
What does Klaus Schawb mean by “You will own nothing and be happy”? - Quora
Answer (1 of 7): It is a riddle. It is a means to tell you that you will be dead. It is impossible to own nothing. When you are dead you truly will not own anything, not even your debt, not even the property you spent your life paying off, not even your underpants, not the money in your accounts,...
ScienceDirect
sciencedirect.com › science › article › pii › S0016328723001131
A future with no individual ownership is not a happy one: Property theory shows why - ScienceDirect
June 29, 2023 - ... As a property concept ownership is sufficiently diverse to realise a sustainable and socially just future. The World Economic Forum (WEF) predicted that, by 2030, individuals would own nothing and be happy.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/wikipedia › "you'll own nothing and be happy" is a phrase published by the world economic forum (wef) and based on a 2016 essay by the danish politician ida auken about a future in which a hypothetical person relies on the sharing economy for many of their needs.
r/wikipedia on Reddit: "You'll own nothing and be happy" is a phrase published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and based on a 2016 essay by the Danish politician Ida Auken about a future in which a hypothetical person relies on the sharing economy for many of their needs.
1 week ago - ... The phrase "You'll own nothing and be happy" was coined by the Danish politician and member of the Folketing for the Social Democrats Ida Auken as part of a 2016 essay in which a hypothetical person relies on the sharing economy for many ...
LinkedIn
linkedin.com › posts › grahamccooke_you-will-own-nothing-and-be-happy-sparked-activity-7278454651803357184-RCHB
"You will own nothing and be happy" sparked global ...
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Quora
quora.com › What-does-the-term-youll-own-nothing-and-be-happy-mean
What does the term “you'll own nothing and be happy” mean? - Quora
Answer (1 of 17): To those who follow behind Klaus Schwab and the members of his crew, it means that they are creating a world where you don’t need a fixed\static home, car, or personal belongings.
Explained
everything.explained.today › You'll_own_nothing_and_be_happy
You'll own nothing and be happy explained
"You'll own nothing and you'll ... by the World Economic Forum (WEF)[1] and based on a 2016 essay by the Danish politician Ida Auken about a future in which a hypothetical person relies on the sharing economy for many of their needs.[2] The phrase from the article "Welcome to ...