One of the richest men in the world was not interested in money, and family members will only receive relatively small inheritances.
One of the wealthiest people on the planet was the founder of the global retail phenomenon, IKEA. When Ingvar Kamprad died at age 91, his fortune was estimated at $73.8 billion, putting him in eighth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That’s a lot of flatpack furniture!
However, Australian News reports in its article, “IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad’s family won’t inherit much of his staggering fortune” that just a fraction of IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad’s fortune will go to his heirs.
Most of the IKEA furniture stores are owned by the Stichting Ingka Foundation. The Dutch entity’s objective is to donate to charity and “supporting innovation” in design. The company was started by Kamprad in the ‘80s and is outside his family’s control.
The company is controlled by Liechtenstein-based Interogo Foundation, and its subsidiary, Inter IKEA, is the global IKEA franchisor.
In addition to philanthropy, the Foundation also allows for profits to be reinvested into the company. The foundation, in effect, owns itself. As such, Kamprad’s family can’t own any shares.
The reason for doing this was to ensure IKEA’s long-term survival. It’s now impossible for any individual person to take control of the company after Kamprad’s death — even a direct heir. Therefore, Kamprad’s family won’t have control over the IKEA company. But they will get modest sums from Ikano Group, a company that is worth billions of dollars in its own right.
That company is owned by the family and runs several businesses in the finance, real estate, manufacturing, and retail industries.
In 2012, the chief executive of the IKEA Foundation told Bloomberg that Kamprad wasn’t interested in money. He was, however, famous for his frugality.
Reference: Australian News (February 2, 2018) “IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad’s family won’t inherit much of his staggering fortune”
Holden & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis Estate Planning Attorneys
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