Did you hear the story about how IKEA founder, Ingvar Kamprad, recently surpassed Bill Gates as the world’s richest man?
Well, it’s true, except that it’s not. (The quick explanation is, it depends how you divvy up IKEA’s wealth, and how much you say Kamprad [who gave up full control of the company in 1982] actually “owns.”)
To combat the trauma of this uncertainty, here are a few facts you can count on.
Until proven otherwise, anyway.
- Ingvar Kamprad founded the company at the age of 17
- Sales for the company in 2003 were about $11.3 billion
- Where do those wacky names come from? For starters, chairs and desks are men’s names, bookcases are occupations, and bathroom items are Scandinavian lakes, bays, and rivers. (check out this blog, or the original article [auf deutsch], for more)
- IKEA catalogues printed last year (131 million) had a higher circulation than the Bible.
(via:
CNN Money: “Who’s really the world’s richest?” by Les Christie [April 6, 2004]
Mirror: “IKEA King is World’s Richest Man,” by David Edwards [April 7, 2004]
Stern: “Waren Sie schon mal in Klippan?” by Karin Spitra [April 22, 2003]
Transblawg: “Where IKEA gets the names” by Margaret Marks [August 31, 2003]
YahooIndia/Reuters: “IKEA founder overtakes Gates as world’s richest – TV” [April 4, 2004])