Ingvar Kamprad (1926–2018)

Ingvar Feodor Kamprad was born in Pjatteryd, Sweden on March 30, 1926. He earned money selling matches and pencils in villages. He founded Ikea in 1943 at the age of 17, using money his father gave him for chores to register his mail-order business in household goods. Over the next seven decades, show more he built Ikea into the world's largest furniture retailer. He opened the first showroom in Almhult, Sweden in 1953 and it became the first Ikea store in 1958. He retired in 1986. At the time of his death, there were more than 350 stores in 29 countries around the world. His manifesto, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer, was published in 1976 and his autobiography, Leading by Design: The Ikea Story written with Bertil Torekull, was published in 1999. He died on January 27, 2018 at the age of 91. (Bowker Author Biography) show less