Tight-fisted Ikea Billionaire Drives 15-Year-Old Volvo, Assembles Own Furniture

In his faded coat, tinted prescription glasses and scuffed shoes, he looks like just another pensioner scraping by on a tight budget.

But the man pictured here is Ingvar Kamprad, the reclusive Swedish founder of Ikea. And he is worth £15.7billion.

That makes him the world's seventh richest man, but the 81-year-old admits he is still "a bit tight" with money.

He takes easyJet flights, drives himself around in a 15-year-old Volvo, and has furnished his modest house almost entirely with Ikea items - which he assembled himself.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[angrystan]

I can't believe the Mail left out that he didn't even purchase his only car. When production of the Volvo 240 ended the last 20-or-so examples rolled off the line and were presented to either museums or Swedes of international significance. Kamprad was among them.

Most of these cars were preserved as collectors items. For Kamprad's example, it became his daily driver. Somehow more fitting for the 240, I believe.

[deckard70]

He's also too cheap to provide the Ikea company with regular shipping options. Which has resulted in a secondary market of people who live near Ikea stores willing to buy & ship stuff for them. Nice store. Bad company.

[BOfever]

How can you build a company from nothing, become a billionaire and still have a wacko think it's a bad company.

[atlantajoe]

because leftist's are bitter and green with envy.

[angrystan]

Ikea has a website which, at least in North America, provides shipping through the usual companies and a printed-catalog operation which provides a similar service. In fact, Ikea uses data culled from such orders for the purpose of planning stores in areas where a desire for Ikea exists. When they opened their shop in the far Northern suburbs of Austin, Texas I was both shocked and delighted. As it happens, the area they were attempting to reach wasn't so much conscientiously eccentric Austin, but the smaller towns to the north where they've been shipping catalog orders for years.

[swift_goat_pet_for_truth]

Contrast that to the Walton's family behavior, trying to take money from a brain injured old lady.
Granted, it was legal. And they stopped the attempt.
But if there were no media brouhaha, and they would still be trying to get her money.
This would NEVER happen in Sweden.

[GravitonX]

I been to Sweden. I've got news. All Swedes are frugal. And, by the way, they're socialist and have one of the best standards of living, vis-a-vis, healthcare, education, and economic stability, IN THE WORLD.

The reception this Black man got in Sweden was exceptional...for the matter, throughout Europe.

Europeans, the other white people;) Lovem!

[AfricanusI]

Why call us "white" when we are in fact "Pink".... when did the real color white got substituted to a color that does not have a specific tone to it?

I marvel at the ignorance of both the caucasians and Africans in that regard.... It's pathetic and it has to change here nand now because the simple truth is we are no "White people" at all given that our skin color can hardly be called so.... it's a shame! and self - patronising.

[laborgrunt]

Bahahahah "the other White people"

[prospectofdeath]

"A former Nazi sympathiser"

whoa, didn't see that coming

[jneems]

Well, he did later apologize to IKEA employees, saying it was the "greatest mistake of his life".
I don't know why this article didn't mention that.

[CindyKay]

I think it is great that He tries to set an example BUT I gotta say His Furniture REALLY SUCKS.

[ErnestineBass]

Sorry, kids, but I need to know what this "tight-fisted rich man" pays his employees (and if they participate in a profit sharing program) before I'll praise his thrifty ways.

[glitzqueen]

Actually, EB, I have a Swedish friend who works for IKEA in Ängelholm and was thrilled to get the job (a computer gig). Karin's doing very well. She and her guy have been renovating a house and she just sent me a postcard from Thailand, where they went to celebrate his birthday.

Throughout Scandinavia, there seems to be a common attitude that enough is enough. One of my clients in the ad/PR agency days was a transplanted Dane who built lovely homes here in New Mexico and capped his own salary at $75K (in late 1970s money). Profits were used to benefit the employees. Gerhard bought property at several resorts, including one in Hawaii, and REQUIRED his people to go and spend time at them, free. Really, really nice man. We could use a lot more employers like him!

[atlantajoe]

you are sorry ernestine, if they did not like what they made they could quit. He could care less what you think!

[laborgrunt]

I really dont understand the mentality of people that say, if the workers get paid crap they can quit. That is the thinking of a fascist!

[donttasemebro]

Being from that part of the world, I can promise you that he pays them a good living wage for 37.5 hours a week with 5-6 weeks vacation in addition to sick leave. And thanks to the Swedish state, health care and higher education is free. Nothing wrong with that.

[LittleGirl]

Yeah, but doesn't Sweden have the highest income tax per person in the WORLD? Do you think that health insurance is free? My god, even here in Germany, a single person is taxed on their income at 48 friggin percent. Sweden is higher! Sounds like this guy is german to me. And, think about it. 4-5 months of the year, sweden is in darkness. What else do they have to do? Come ON

[GravitonX]

See that the problem in the States. We've gotten duped into the "how big is my paycheck" game. Does it really matter if I give you a big coupon but the product sucks?

[JScott]

Yup I've heard it doesn't pay that well, kinda like Target....
And a lot of the folks that work in the stores are contract folks, so they can avoid even paying more $ and the associated benefits. So what's the story on the stores in the Scandanavian countries?

[Mike169]

I wish he'd dismantle that monstrosity in Brooklyn - it can be seen from the moon!

[LivingStardust]

Dude, how the Hell are you getting to the moon? Can I get in on some of that? This place sucks.

[JScott]

Why can't more rich folk be like him. I like the house, Hope there's no risk in it being photgraphed.

[beachcruiser]

Why can't more NORMAL people be like him, as in, to live frugally.

Bet he's a horrible tipper.

[swift_goat_pet_for_truth]

Care to speculate on the kind of tipper Dick Cheney is?

[Ohg]

It is too bad that more of our elected officials are not has honest as this man. The hypocrisy of contemporary elected officials is selling America to the scrap heap of history............
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/04/14/hypocrisy-is-a-bridge-to-nowhere/

[Harrier]

He doesn't have to keep up with the Jone's and does it because he likes it. I don't have a problem with it

[aceholiday]

there's starving kids in the world and this guy's sitting on a mountain of money putting his dresser drawer together.

[atlantajoe]

Maybe stupid people should nor breed, that has nothing to do with how much money he has. He could give it all away and the world would still be full of breeders with their hands out.

[swift_goat_pet_for_truth]

Sounds like neocon class envy to me.

[IranBushsWaterloo]

It is

[jneems]

True. But he is also employing/feeding over 100,000 people in the world.

Would prefer to see him living in a gated mansion somewhere being waited on by servants? I kind of like that he is grounded enough to not fall into the status trap. Maybe he just enjoys putting furniture together..

[faretheewell]

What he is probably sitting on is a mountain of stock. So, while he undoubtedly has far more cash than he needs, it is likely that the majority of his wealth is in stock in his own company. What he gives to charity, I don't know. I suspect that you don't either.

[lisakaz]

But we don't know what he'll do with the money. Maybe he's not a bad guy in the end. We'll see.