The question came up during Paul Whitehead's lecture preceding Felix German Memorial Tuesday Night Marathon on December 13: could Elon Musk buy the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and then do whatever he wants with it? The short answer is no. Verifying this answer leads us to some interesting (to chess players anyway) trivia.
The International Chess Federation, known the world over as FIDE (pronounced "Fee - Day") the initials of its official name in French (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) is a Non-governmental Organization (NGO) and as such would be extremely difficult, even for a billionaire, to take over.
Want more information? Mechanics’ Institute Librarians are here to help! I found a downloadable copy of The FIDE Charter that can help cure your insomnia. This document will tell you that FIDE draws members of its General Assembly from constituent national chess associations, and this body elects FIDE's officers, commission members, etc. As such, no mechanism exists for a single individual to take over this organization.
Musk would have to take over enough national chess Federations to acquire a two thirds majority in the FIDE General Assembly to change FIDE's bylaws. And even if he tried, he would run afoul of this rule:
[To meet the Obligations of Member Federations a Member Federation must] "[A]ct independently from any government, public or private institution." (Article 11, section 'l').
The FIDE charter has rules for "suspension and expulsion of member federations" that empowers its current leadership to kick out any national chess federation. So if Musk managed to get his hands on a member federation and attempted to stage a coup, he would be failing to "act independently from ... a private institution" (that institution being any given one of Musk's business entities).
And if Musk tries to dispute the expulsion, well, best of luck with that:
FIDE decisions can only be challenged by an appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, using binding arbitration according to Swiss federal law.
And so I conclude, no, Elon Musk can't "Buy FIDE and do whatever he wants with it."
