How One of the World’s Wealthiest Individuals Avoided Taxes for Years
Many people are always complaining that the wealthy don’t pay their fair share in taxes. While that is an argument that will never end, it seems that one of the world’s richest men might be guilty. That’s because he was able to avoid paying taxes for more than 40 years. How is that possible? The wealthy taxpayer in question is the founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, who is reportedly one of the top ten richest people in the world.
Although IKEA is clearly influenced by all things Swedish, the man who built the IKEA empire left his native country more than 40 years ago in the name of tax savings. IKEA is the number one furniture store in the world and in the fiscal year 2014-2015 the company reported 31.9 billion euros. However, taxes have always been a huge part of IKEA’s success. That’s exactly why Mr. Kamprad left the country he loves for Switzerland. He wanted a tax break.
While he did pay taxes in Switzerland during those 40 years, he legally avoided what would have been a much larger bill if he had stayed in Sweden, for both his company and his personal income. Now, after all these years he has returned to his native Sweden and in 2014 he paid what amounted to about $2 million in taxes to Sweden, while his net worth is reportedly worth an estimated $43.2 billion.
Beyond the Exit: Alex Bean on Why True ROI Means Return on Impact
Beyond the Exit: Why Divvy’s Alex Bean Believes True ROI Means Return on Impact For most entrepreneurs, selling a billion-dollar company would be the final chapter—the ultimate validation of long nights and relentless ambition. For Alex Bean, co-founder of Divvy, that milestone became only the beginning of a deeper journey. In 2016, Bean and longtime friend Blake Murray launched…
Connor Boyack on Empowering the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs
Connor Boyack never set out to be a children’s author or an architect of youth entrepreneurship programs. His career began in politics and web development, but a persistent search for meaning and impact ultimately led him to build one of the most influential educational movements of the past decade. Today, as founder of the Libertas…
Jerry Browder: A Mission Driven Legacy
Jerry Browder on Building Signet Health: A Legacy of Purpose, Faith, and Life-Saving Mental Health Care For most entrepreneurs, the journey is measured in revenues, exits, and market share. For Jerry Browder, founder of Signet Health, success is measured in lives saved, hope restored, and a mission that will outlive him. “I started Signet with a…
Why Scaling Requires Impossible Goals
Impossible Goals: Inside Dr. Ben Hardy’s Game Changing Psychology of Business Growth In a business world obsessed with incremental growth and conventional playbooks, Dr. Benjamin Hardy is breaking all the rules. An organizational psychologist and bestselling author, Hardy has spent the last decade redefining how entrepreneurs scale—not just their companies, but their very identities. Now,…