Mark Cuthbert/UK Press/Getty Images(SMALAND, Sweden) — Ingvar Kamprad, who founded the global Ikea furniture chain, has died at age 91.
“One of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 20th century, Ingvar Kamprad, has peacefully passed away at his home in Smaland, Sweden, on Jan. 27,” Ikea said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg on Sunday. The company is known for producing furniture that is easy to transport — and, for many customers, easy on the wallet.
Kamprad had an estimated net worth of $58.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This made him the world’s eighth-richest person.
In 2017, 403 Ikea stores in almost 50 countries received more than 900 million visitors, and the chain generated sales of $47.6 billion, according to Bloomberg.
The U.K.’s Icon magazine named Kamprad the most influential taste-maker in the world in 2005. The name Ikea is made up of the founder’s initials and the first letters of the Elmtaryd farm and Agunnaryd village where he was raised, according to Bloomberg.
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