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FORBES

Ten Swedes make Forbes billionaires list

Ten Swedes have made it onto the Forbes billionaires list for 2011, with H&M owner Stefan Persson placing highest among the Swedes considered to be the world's wealthiest.

Published: 10 March 2011 11:06 CET
Ten Swedes make Forbes billionaires list
Photo: Prolineserver; Tnarik (File)

Persson came in at number 13 in the 2011 Forbes rankings, with an estimated fortune of around $24.5 billion.

Since first being created by Erling Persson in 1947, the H&M clothing empire continues to expand internationally with new stores opened in Turkey and Israel in 2010 and Croatia and Romania planned for 2011.

The younger Persson has led the company since 1982.

His sister Liselott Persson is the third highest-ranking Swede on the Forbes list, coming in at spot 323 with an estimated fortune of $3.4 billion.

Packaging matriarch Birgit Rausing of TetraPak fame is found at number 49 with an estimated fortune of $14 billion, followed by brother-in-law Hans Rausing at number 81 with $10 billion.

Hans sold his part of the Tetra Laval packaging company to brother Gad Rausing in 1995.

In 1980 the company headquarters were moved to Switzerland and the Rausing family has long been based outside of the Swedish borders in an effort to escape the country’s high taxes.

Ikea mogul Ingvar Kamprad, who was the highest ranking Swede last year, saw his standing among the global wealth elite drop precipitously.

The head of the flat pack furniture giant fell from place 11 to 162 and now has an estimated fortune measured at a mere $6 billion after lawyers showed that Ikea is owned by a foundation in tax haven Lichtenstein, which Kamprad created and now heads.

The foundation receives royalties tax free on all sales that every Ikea store must pay to the parent company for the right to use the concept.

The foundation is valued at $12 billion, but has so far only paid out $60 million to charity, according to Forbes.

Kamprad now gets his fortune from his investment firm Ikano.

Among the rest of the Swedes featured on the list is Antonia Johnsson at 152 with a fortune estimated at $6.5 billion.

She heads the Axel Johnsson Group, which has interests in everything from energy to telecom and real estate.

Fredrik Lundberg, the head of L.E Lundberg Företagen and Melker Schorling, the chairman and 85 percent owner of Melker Schorling AB, share place 393 with $2.9 billion each.

Security giant Gustaf Douglas, with $2.6 billion, finds himself in spot 440, while hedge fund operator Thomas Sandell comes in at place 1057 with a comparatively modest $1.1billion.

The world’s overall richest person for the second year running is Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, worth an estimated $74 billion, followed by IT mogul Bill Gates with $56 billion.

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CHRISTMAS

Why are German Christmas markets opening so early this year?

Most German Christmas markets don’t begin business until the end of November. But in some cities, the winter wonderlands are opening earlier than ever. What's going on?

Published: 12 November 2019 11:53 CET
Updated: 13 November 2019 10:51 CET
Why are German Christmas markets opening so early this year?
Visitors stroll through Essen's Weihnachtsmarkt, which opens on Wednesday. Photo: DPA

The downtown Duisburg Christmas market is in full swing this year, 17 full days before the first Sunday Advent. This is earlier than ever, at least in the Ruhr area of North Rhine-Westphalia. Churches across Germany are expected to criticize this growing trend, yet many cities are defending their choices. 

“The Christmas market in Duisburg will open this year on November 14th, one day ahead of the Christmas markets in Essen and Oberhausen. The opening hours of the Christmas markets are mainly due to high demand from visitors,” a city project manager in Duisburg explained.

READ ALSO: 8 of the most beautiful German Christmas markets

Four women toast each other with Glühwein at the opening of the Freiburg Christmas market. Photo: DPA

Local church representatives collaborated with the city and agreed with the dates in Duisburg, he added. Additionally, the market recognizes important holy days like Totensonntag (Sunday of the Dead), Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to the city. 

“We are trying to meet the needs of our retailers, the inner-city trade and, above all, the demand of visitors,” he said.

The story is similar for Essen's early Christmas market. It will be closed for Volkstrauertag (this year on November 17th) as well as Totensonntag (November 24th).

And Essen and Duisburg are not alone with their very early Christmas markets. Even in Catholic-leaning Austria, marketplaces are getting a head start. For example, the Wiener Weihnachtstraum (Viennese Christmas Dream) opens November 15th.  

Even in Berlin, where big markets open only after Totensonntag and stay until the New Year, a similar phenomenon is playing out. The so-called Winterwelt (Winter World) at Potsdamer Platz, which is hardly distinguishable from a real Christmas market, has been open since November 2nd. 

Even more extreme, the Bayreuther Winterdorf (Bayreuth Winter Village) opened on October 17th this year. The marketplace proudly calls itself the first Christmas gathering “in the whole of Germany and certainly all of Europe.” 

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about preparing for Christmas 

A photo of the Christmas market in Bielefeld, North Rhine Westphalia. Photo: DPA

Nevertheless, the churches see the early Christmas markets as a commodification of important Christian holidays. Ulrich Lota, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Essen, says the markets are an advertising tool to lure people into the city and away from online shopping. 

“It is important to remember, even amongst the commerce and consumption, that Christmas is not just some cultural holiday at the end of the year, but the celebration of the birth of Jesus,” she said. 

However, churches don’t want to strictly forbid something that brings many joy during the season. 

Christmas markets in Freiburg, Bochum and Dortmunder, as well as the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt in Austria and the Weinachtsdorf am Bellevue in Zurich are all open as early as November 21st, the Thursday before Totensonntag.

In most cities, however, the Christmas markets open only after Totensonntag. Cities like Kassel, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Hamburg, Hanover, Bielefeld, Potsdam, Cottbus, Rostock and Lübeck hold off on the Glühwein and other classic Christmas treats until November 25th. 

In Erfurt, Weimar and Leipzig, the celebrations start on November 26th, and in Munich on Marienplatz and in Stuttgart only a day later on November 27th. The Dresden Striezelmarkt begins on Wednesday before the First Advent.

The Mainz Christmas Market opens on November 28th, and the famous Nuremberg Christkindlmarkt kicks off on November 29th, the Friday before the First Advent.

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