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10 Shocking Facts About Ikea’s Founder That’ll Make You See Your Furniture in a New Light

Ingvar Kamprad, the man who created the Swedish furniture empire Ikea, had no shortage of mysteries stored away in his ready-to-assemble dresser. After his death at the age of 91, we decided to take a closer look at this titan of home furnishings.

Despite how familiar most of us are with Ikea’s famously budget-friendly, flat-pack furniture, we bet you know almost nothing about Kamprad, who rarely gave interviews. Nonetheless, plenty of interesting tidbits have surfaced over the years—some sweet (like him selling matchboxes at age 5), some unsettling.

So check out these surprising facts about the founder of Ikea to see his furnishings in a whole new light.

1. He started selling stuff early

At the wee age of 5, he sold matchboxes to his neighbors. Business soon expanded by bike to hawking fish, loganberries, Christmas decorations, and ballpoint pens. In 1943, at the age of 17, he registered his business with the name Ikea.

2. The name ‘Ikea’ comes from his initials

Because “IK” was a tad short and unsavory on its own, he tacked on the initials for his farm (Elmtaryd) and village (Agunnaryd). Some of his earliest products included table runners, fountain pens, and, um, udder balm. In 1948, he added furniture to the mix. Smart man.

3. Those strange furniture names stem from dyslexia

Ever wonder how the “Fyrkantig,” “Knutstorp,” and Ikea’s other furnishings got their wacky names? According to the University of Michigan, Kamprad’s dyslexia made it difficult for him to read numerical product codes, so he demanded his company devise names for every product—which, ironically, are hard to read and mostly unpronounceable to non-Swedes.

4. Ikea made him filthy rich (duh)

After opening its first store in Oslo in 1953, Ikea soon ballooned into the world’s largest furniture retailer with over 350 stores in 29 countries, raking in $47.6 billion last year alone. Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index listed Kamprad as the world’s eighth-richest individual, worth $58.7 billion. He continued to run the company until 1988, when he downshifted to more of an advisory role.

5. Yet he lived a somewhat thrifty life

He “humblebragged” that he flew only economy class, stayed in budget hotels, drove a 15-year-old Volvo, and filled his home with cheap (Ikea, one would hope) furniture. Nonetheless, this frugal public image was found to be a bit of a sham when reporters unearthed that, in addition to his house in Sweden, he owned vineyards in Provence and a mansion overlooking Lake Geneva in Epalinges, Switzerland (where he established residence to evade taxes and was known around town as the “Miser”). He also drove a Porsche.

6. He preached thrift as a virtue

In 1976, he wrote a manifesto titled “The Testament of a Furniture Dealer” featuring bible-esque commandments touting what people in Småland call “lista,” which means “making do” with a minimum of resources. On a company level, that meant that employees had to use both sides of sheets of paper and model in Ikea catalogs to save on production costs.

7. He was an alcoholic

Kamprad made no secret of his alcoholism, and claimed he “controlled” it by “drying out” for three weeks around once a year.

8. He dabbled in fascism

In 1994, news broke in a Swedish newspaper that back in 1942, Kamprad had attended meetings and raised funds for Per Engdahl, a Swedish fascist with anti-Semitic tendencies. In the wake of these unsettling disclosures, Kamprad confessed his fascist activities were “the most stupid mistake of my life” that he “bitterly regrets.” Jewish groups tried to boycott Ikea, but it made nary a blip on business.

9. He married twice and had four kids

In 1950 he married Kerstin Wadling, with whom he had a daughter named Annika. They divorced in 1960, and he married again three years later to Margretha Sennert, with whom he had three sons: Peter, Jonas, and Mathias. All three have occupied positions in their father’s company; however, according to the New Yorker, “he and his associates have suggested that none of them possess sufficient mettle” to fill their father’s big shoes.

10. There’s a musical in his name

In spite of his foibles and offenses over the years, Kamprad is extolled as a hero in Sweden. Last year, the Malmö City Theatre even premiered a musical in his name. In “Ingvar! A Musical Furniture Saga,” he ends up crucified on a maypole, where he nonetheless belts out in song, “Do you think this can stop ­Ingvar?”

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