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IKEA

Ikea founder rated fifth richest in the world

Ingrad Kamprad, the founder of Swedish furniture giant Ikea, finished fifth on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index published on Friday, with an estimated fortune of $55.6 billion.

Published: 17 May 2013 09:00 CEST
Ikea founder rated fifth richest in the world

Kamprad was the second wealthiest European on the list, after Spain’s Amancio Ortega, owner of the retail Zara chain, who finished fourth.

Another Swede, H&M’s chairman Stefan Persson, squeezed inside the top 20 with an estimated wealth of $25.5 billion.

Ikea pulled in more than $36 billion in revenue and $4 billion in net income in 2012, Bloomberg wrote. Ikano Group, Kamprad’s family’s investment vehicle, manages four Ikea franchises, a credit card business, and real estate investments.

Kamprad refused to comment on the ranking, in which Bloomberg noted that Kamprad fled Sweden in the seventies due to the high tax rates and that he started his career early, at the age of five, selling matchsticks to neighbours.

Bloomberg’s index provides updated information accounting for the latest movements in the stock market. The list provides information and a transparent analysis of how each billionaire’s fortune was calculated.

Bill Gates topped the list for the first time since 2007, with an estimated wealth of $72.7 billion. Other billionaire heavyweights in the ranking include Carlos Slim (who topped the list last year), and Warren Buffet.

TT/The Local/og

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WEATHER

Danish Ikea store shelters staff and customers overnight during snowstorm

Heavy snowfall left 31 people looking for a spare cushion at the Aalborg branch of Ikea on Wednesday as they were forced to spend the night at the store.

Published: 2 December 2021 09:11 CET
A file photo at Ikea in Aalborg, where 31 people stayed overnight during a snowstorm on December 1st 2021.
A file photo at Ikea in Aalborg, where 31 people stayed overnight during a snowstorm on December 1st 2021. Photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

Anyone who has found themselves wandering the mazy aisles of an Ikea might be able to empathise with the sense of being lost in the furniture store for a seemingly indefinite time.

Such a feeling was probably more real than usual for six customers and 25 staff members who were forced to spend the night at the furniture giant’s Aalborg branch after being snowed in.

Heavy snow in North Jutland brought traffic to a standstill and halted public transport in parts of the region on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in a snow-in at Ikea.

“This is certainly a new situation for us,” Ikea Aalborg store manager Peter Elmose told local media Nordjyske, which first reported the story.

“It’s certainly not how I thought my day would end when I drove to work this morning,” Elmose added.

The 31 people gathered in the store’s restaurant area and planned to see Christmas television and football to pass the evening, the store’s manager reported to Nordjyske.

“Our kitchen staff have made sure there is hot chocolate, risalamande, pastries, soft drinks, coffee and the odd beer for us in light of the occasion. So we’ll be able to keep warm,” he said.

“We couldn’t just send them outside and lock the door behind them at our 8pm closing time. Absolutely not. So of course they’ll be staying here,” he added.

The temporary guests were given lodging in different departments of the store in view of the Covid-19 situation, Nordjyske writes.

“For us , the most important thing was to take care of each other and that everyone feels safe,” Elmose said.

At least Ikea’s stranded customers and staff had somewhere comfortable to lay their heads.

The same can unlikely be said for around 300 passengers at the city’s airport who had to stay overnight at the terminal.

The airport was forced to stop flights from 2:30pm yesterday amid worsening weather, which also prevented buses from transferring passengers to hotels.

“We have around 300 people in the terminal right now and have been giving out blankets on the assumption they will be staying here tonight,” Aalborg Airport operations manager Kim Bermann told Nordjyske.

READ ALSO: Ikea reopens in Denmark after country’s worst retail month this century

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