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Ingvar Kamprad, the reclusive billionaire who founded Ikea, grew up selling pencils in Swedish villages and was the 8th-richest person in the world by the time he died. Here's how he built a fortune off furniture.

Dec 31, 2019, 20:41 IST

Ikea is the world's largest furniture retailer, according to Forbes.

Ikea was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, a reclusive Swedish billionaire who died in January 2018.

Kamprad grew up on a farm in southern Sweden.

Kamprad was only 17 years old when he started what would become the world's largest furniture retailer.

As a young man, Kamprad had ties to pro-Nazi groups.

Over the years, Kamprad grew Ikea into a multibillion-dollar business with hundreds of stores across the world.

Despite his wildly successful company, Kamprad lived a relatively frugal lifestyle.

His home in Switzerland, a single-story ranch villa overlooking Lake Geneva, was relatively modest for a multibillionaire.

The Swedish billionaire was married twice and had four children.

Kamprad's three sons, Jonas, Peter, and Mathias, are now in their early and mid 50s.

Ingvar's oldest son, Peter Kamprad, is the chairman of Ikano Group.

Jonas Kamprad is also a board member at Ikano Group.

In addition to sitting on the board of Ikano Group like his brothers, the youngest Kamprad brother, Mathias, serves on the supervisory board of Inter Ikea Group, which operates most Ikea stores.

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