Scandinavia does not have as many billionaires as many other European countries. The region has 57 billionaires, with Sweden and Norway accounting for 31 and 12 billionaires, respectively. In this article, we discuss 9 of these rich Scandinavians and their businesses.
Even though not many of them are in the region, these few billionaires are not inferior to others from other countries.
Stefan Persson
This Swedish billionaire is the richest in the region, with a $13.5 billion net worth. He was the CEO of H&M (one of the largest fashion groups in Sweden) until he handed over to his son in January 2020 after 11 years of filling that position. However, he remains the largest single shareholder of the company, with over one-third of the company’s shares.
Jorn, Kirsten and Finn Rausing
As mentioned in an essay writing service UK, this Swedish family is among Scandinavia’s wealthiest people. The Rausing family is famous in Germany for its Tetra Pak (belonging to Tetra Level Group). Kirsten, Finn, and Jorn are grandchildren of the founder Ruben Rausing and are members of Tetra Laval’s Board of Directors.
In addition, these siblings have shares in International Flavors & Fragrances (a New York-based company manufacturing aroma and fragrance substances). Jorn is also involved in Ocado and has a $10.3 billion net worth, while the other siblings are at $9.1 billion.
Anders Holch Povlsen
This is the richest man from Denmark and one of the richest Scandinavians. His fortune is mainly from the fashion industry. He started leading his family company, Bestseller, when he was 28. He also holds shares in several other businesses such as Asos and Zalando, Nemlig, and Klarna. He achieved notoriety after the killing of three of his children in Sri Lanka during a terrorist attack.
Niels Louis-Hansen
Niels, the deputy chairman at Coloplast (a medical technology company), is another Dane on the list. His father founded the company in 1957, and he is currently the majority shareholder with one-fifth of the shares. He is also a shareholder at Ambu (another medical technology company) and worth $7.4 billion.
Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen
Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is the owner of the Lego toy icon. The long-time boss at Lego now has over 75 percent of his company’s shares distributed among his three children Agnete, Sofie, and Thomas, to ensure that it remains a family possession.He left his position at the company in April 2019, with his son Thomas being the Board of Directors deputy chairman. Apart from this toy company, they are also shareholders at Legoland amusement park with other investments in real estate and wind farms. He is currently worth $ 6.1 billion.
Frederik Paulsen
The billionaire inherited a pharmaceutical company from his father in 1983, and that was the infancy stage of the Ferring group. Today, the annual turnover has grown from $ 15 million to more than $2 billion.
The company now has thousands of employees across 60 countries. He remains the chairman of the company’s board to date, and although he is from Sweden, he is based in Switzerland. He currently has a net worth of $5.8 billion.
Melker Schorling
Melker Schorling took over Securitas (Swedish security group) in 1987 as the CEO. He later founded his investment company in 1999 and went public after seven years. He currently holds shares in Assa Abloy (a lock system manufacturing company) and Hexagon (a Swedish technology and software measurement group). He retired from his positions in management in 2017 and handed these offices over to his daughters. Schorling is also one of the largest property owners in Sweden. According to Forbes, the family has a net worth of $ 5.6 billion.
Antonia Axson Johnson
Antonia Axson Johnson has led the Axel Johnson Group (an active retail company across Sweden and several other European countries) for about 40 years. She took over this business from her late dad in 1982 and handed the reins of chairmanship in 2015 to her daughter. However, she remains the company’s owner and member of the board of directors. She has a net worth of $ 5.1 billion.
Bertil Hult
Bertil Hult is the founder of EF and started the language trip in 1965 for two teachers and 33 students to England. What was formerly called “European Holiday School” is a group of companies in 114 countries with over 600 offices. The company is now named “Education First.” His sons now run the company after he retired from an operational business in 2008. His net worth is estimated at $ 5 billion, according to Forbes. He has other involvements outside the company, including the “Hult Prize” for budding founders.
9 Richest Scandinavians and Their Businesses – Conclusion
While at least 57 billionaires in the Scandinavian region, this article profiles the top 9 billionaires within the region and their businesses.
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9 Richest Scandinavians and Their Businesses is written exclusively for Daily Scandinavian by John Peterson. John is a journalist with four years of experience working in London magazine “Shop&buy.” He is a professional mini-tennis player, and he has written a novel, “His heart.” You can find him on FB.
Feature image (on top) by Moods of Norway