Stefan Persson (magnate)
Stefan Persson | |
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Persson in 2010 | |
| Born | 4 October 1947 (age 77) Stockholm, Sweden |
| Education | Stockholm University |
| Occupation | Business magnate |
| Known for | 36% owner of H&M |
| Title | Chairman, H&M |
| Spouses |
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| Children | Karl-Johan Persson Charlotte Söderström Tom Persson |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Lottie Tham (sister) |
Carl Stefan Erling Persson (Swedish: [ˈstěːfan ˈpæ̌ːʂɔn]; born 4 October 1947) is a Swedish billionaire businessman. In 2022, Forbes reported Persson's net worth as $17 billion making him the richest of Sweden's 45 billionaires and the 98th richest person in the world. Persson was the chairman of fashion company H&M until May 2020, when he was succeeded by his son. He remains the company's largest shareholder, owning a 36% stake. The company was founded by his father Erling Persson in 1947.
Persson took over H&M from his father in 1982 and served as its manager until 1998. He also owns a substantial stake in the Swedish technology company Hexagon AB. Through his privately held real estate company Ramsbury Invest, Persson owns a large number of properties in London, Paris and Stockholm.
He is the sole director of Ramsbury Estates Limited, which farms 19,000 acres (7,700 ha) in the English counties of Wiltshire, Berkshire and Hampshire, centred on the village of Ramsbury in Wiltshire. Since Persson acquired the business in 1997, it has bought the land of several neighbouring estates including Littlecote and Hungerford Park.
According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Persson had a net worth of US$21.2 billion in January 2022, making him the 89th richest person in the world at the time.