Ingvar Kamprad

Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA at age 17 in rural Sweden and built it into the world's largest furniture retailer, with 460+ stores in 60+ countries. His invention of flat-pack, self-assembly furniture — combined with a relentless obsession with keeping prices low — made well-designed home furnishings accessible to billions of people who previously couldn't afford them.

Kamprad's genius was systematic cost reduction. He realized that the most expensive part of furniture was shipping and assembly. By designing furniture that could be packed flat and assembled by the customer, he eliminated both costs. The savings were passed to consumers, making IKEA's prices 30-50% lower than competitors. The iconic BILLY bookcase, LACK table, and MALM dresser are in hundreds of millions of homes worldwide.

Kamprad was also famously frugal despite his enormous wealth. He flew economy class, drove a 15-year-old Volvo, and ate at IKEA cafeterias. He once said that wasting resources was 'a mortal sin at IKEA.' His corporate structure — a complex arrangement of foundations and holding companies — made IKEA's true ownership deliberately opaque and has been the subject of both admiration (for tax efficiency) and criticism.