Wallenberg family

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Family grave of the Wallenberg family in Linköping's cemetery

The Wallenberg family is the wealthiest and most influential family dynasty in Sweden . The family has been active in the banking business since the foundation of the “Stockholms Enskilda Bank” in 1856 by André Oscar Wallenberg , from which the large bank Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB), which still exists today , emerged.

Shares in industry

However, the family owes its fame and importance to its holdings in Swedish industrial companies. These shares mostly do not exist in the form of direct shareholdings, but as majority holdings in investment companies such as Investor AB , which in turn are the company's largest individual shareholders. Because of this practice, it has been possible for generations for the Wallenberg family to fill company supervisory board positions to a degree that goes far beyond the proportional share of their actual ownership. This practice is supported by Swedish legislation, which makes it possible to exercise dominant control over companies through cross-shareholdings by companies, shares with different voting rights and personal links with low ownership interests. This practice is used by other Swedish families as well, however the Wallenberg family is by far the largest cohesive capital owner.

It is estimated that around 40 percent of the market capitalization of Swedish industry is controlled by the Wallenbergs. This means a concentration of power that is unprecedented in Europe, which among other things leads to the family becoming an important actor in national industrial policy through coordination of the companies it controls. The control system of the Wallenbergs has been stabilized for decades by the support of employees and the (mostly ruling) Swedish Social Democrats , since the family's corporate policy is geared towards long-term, growth-oriented developments and stable working relationships.

The industrial empire of the Wallenbergs thus forms an integral part of the “ Swedish model ” of cooperative industrial relationships . According to analysts, the family's global information system made up of experts and former high-ranking employees is another special advantage.

The companies in the area of ​​influence of the Wallenbergs are internationalized to an above-average degree. It can be said that this long tradition of international growth and technological interdependence has contributed significantly to Sweden's development from a poor agricultural state to a highly developed industrial and welfare state, the so-called «Folkhemmet» (Volksheim).

Wallenberg group of companies

The Wallenberg group of companies includes: AB SKF , ABB , Astra Zeneca , Atlas Copco , Contex , Electrolux , Ericsson , Husqvarna AB , IBX , Saab , SAS Scandinavian Airlines , SEB and, since 2007, via Husqvarna also Gardena , and until 2013 Husqvarna Motorcycles .

In Germany, private equity investments have existed since 1994 through the investment subsidiary EQT, among others in: Carl Zeiss Vision (the optics business of Carl Zeiss , until 2010), Kabel BW (until 2012), Leybold Optics (until 2012) SAG Group and Symrise .

Known family members

Family tree of the Wallenberg family
Marcus Wallenberg junior
Jacob Wallenberg senior
  • Jacob Wallenberg (1746–1778): Swedish clergyman and author
  • Marcus Wallenberg (1774–1833): nephew of Jacob Wallenberg, Bishop of Linköping
  • André Oscar Wallenberg (1816–1886): son of Marcus Wallenberg, Swedish naval officer, newspaper editor, politician and founder of the SEB
  • Knut Agathon Wallenberg (1853-1938): son of André Oscar Wallenberg, Swedish banker and politician (Swedish Foreign Minister from 1914 to 1917)
  • Gustaf Wallenberg (1863–1937): son of André Oscar Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat
  • Marcus Laurentius Wallenberg (1864–1943): son of André Oscar Wallenberg, Swedish banker and successful industrialist
  • Jacob Wallenberg senior (1892–1980): son of Marcus Wallenberg (senior), Swedish banker, industrialist and diplomat
  • Marcus Wallenberg (1899–1982): son of Marcus Wallenberg, Swedish banker, industrialist and diplomat
  • Raoul Wallenberg (1912–1952): grandson of Gustaf Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat and savior of Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust
  • Marc Wallenberg (1924–1971): son of Marcus Wallenberg (junior), Swedish banker and industrialist
  • Peter Wallenberg senior (1926–2015): son of Marcus Wallenberg (junior), Swedish banker and industrialist
  • Jacob Wallenberg (* 1956): son of Peter Wallenberg (senior), Swedish banker and industrialist
  • Marcus Wallenberg (* 1956): son of Marc Wallenberg, Swedish banker and industrialist
  • Peter Wallenberg junior (* 1959): son of Peter Wallenberg (senior)

See also

Movies

  • Wallenbergs - historien om ett svensk finansimperium. (The Wallenbergs - stories about a Swedish financial empire.) Documentary, 2 parts of 58 min., Script and direction: Gregor Nowinski, production: Sveriges Television (SVT), first broadcast: January 2007, summary: "Jag ville komma bakom myten." (“I want to get behind the myth.”) Series of images
    For the first time, the Wallenberg family allowed intensive interviews and opened their archives with documents and hundreds of films dating back to the 1920s.

Web links