Wallenberg family

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Wallenberg family
Business family
AOWallenberg (cropped).jpg
Andre
Wallenberg
Board of directors (1) (cropped).jpg
Marcus Wallenberg II
Max IV invigning Peter Wallenberg Jr 20160621 0039 (27748566472) (cropped).jpg
Peter
Wallenberg II
Current region Stockholm County, Sweden
Founded
  • Marriage of Per Hansson
    1692, Sweden
  • 332 years ago
FounderPer Hansson
Motto"Esse, non Videri"

The Wallenberg family is a prominent Swedish family renowned as bankers, industrialists, politicians, bureaucrats and diplomats, present in most large Swedish industrial groups, like EQT AB, Ericsson, Electrolux, ABB, SAS Group, SKF, Atlas Copco, Saab AB, and more. In the 1970s, the Wallenberg family businesses employed 40% of Sweden's industrial workforce and represented 40% of the total worth of the Stockholm stock market. [1]

Contents

The most famous of the Wallenberg family, Raoul Wallenberg, a diplomat, worked in Budapest, Hungary, during World War II to rescue Jews from the Holocaust. Between July and December 1944, he issued protective passports and housed Jews, saving tens of thousands of Jewish lives. [2] Their flagship company, Investor AB, has a market capitalization of around $60 billion. [3] The family is also heavily involved in philanthropy through the Wallenberg foundations, especially the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

History

Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Statue, Great Cumberland Place, London Raoul Wallenberg memorial London.jpg
Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Statue, Great Cumberland Place, London
Grand Hotel Saltsjobaden; built in 1890s by the Wallenberg family Grand hotell Saltsjobaden February 2013 02.jpg
Grand Hotel Saltsjöbaden; built in 1890s by the Wallenberg family

The earliest known member of the Wallenberg family is Per Hansson (1670–1741) who, in 1692, married Kerstin Jacobsdotter Schuut (1671–1752). Their son, Jakob Persson Wallberg (1699–1758) married twice. The children of his first marriage called themselves Wallberg and those of his second called themselves Wallenberg. [4] Jakob Persson Wallberg was the great-grandfather of André Oscar Wallenberg who, in 1856, founded Stockholms Enskilda Bank, the predecessor of today's Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken. [1]

André Oscar Wallenberg's son Knut Agathon Wallenberg took over as CEO of Stockholms Enskilda Bank in 1886. Like many other Wallenberg relatives, Knut Agathon Wallenberg was also involved in Swedish politics and diplomacy becoming Minister for Foreign Affairs 1914–1917, and member of the Riksdags first chamber (Parliament of Sweden) 1907–1919. In 1916, new legislation made it more difficult for banks to own shares in industrial companies on a long-term basis. Investor was formed as an investment part of Stockholms Enskilda Bank.

Knut Agathon Wallenberg's younger brother Marcus Wallenberg (senior) carried on the tradition and took over as the bank's CEO in 1911, replacing his older brother who was appointed Stockholms Enskilda Bank chairman of the board.

Jacob Wallenberg, eldest son of Marcus Wallenberg (senior), became the bank's CEO after Joseph Nachmanson died in 1927, joined by younger brother Marcus Wallenberg (junior) as the bank's deputy CEO. In 1938, Knut Agathon Wallenberg died. He had no children. Marcus Wallenberg (senior) was appointed Stockholms Enskilda Bank chairman of the board.

During the War the Bank collaborated with the German government. The Secretary of the US Treasury, Henry Morgenthau Jr. considered Jacob Wallenberg strongly pro-German, and the US subjected the Bank to a blockade that was only lifted in 1947. [5] [6]

The fourth generation of Wallenbergs joined the family business in 1953, including heir apparent Marc Wallenberg, eldest son of Marcus Wallenberg (junior), who became a deputy CEO at Stockholms Enskilda Bank in 1953, before taking over as CEO in 1958. After a power struggle between Jacob Wallenberg and his younger brother Marcus Wallenberg (junior), Jacob Wallenberg resigned from the board of directors in 1969.

The resignation opened a seat on the bank's board of directors to Peter Wallenberg (senior), younger son of Marcus Wallenberg (junior). Marcus Wallenberg (junior) pushed through a merger agreement between Stockholms Enskilda Bank and rival Skandinaviska Banken in 1971. Soon after, tragedy struck when Marc Wallenberg committed suicide, observers suggested that the act came possibly because Marc Wallenberg felt himself inadequate to the task of leading what was to become the Scandinavia banking giant Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken. The merger went through in 1972.

Marcus Wallenberg (junior), and younger son Peter Wallenberg (senior), focused their interests on the family's investment companies, Investor and Providentia. Investor now became the family's new flagship business, and, under Marcus Wallenberg (juniors) leadership began actively promoting the restructuring of most of the industrial companies under its control, replacing board members and promoting younger CEO and other management.

Peter Wallenberg (senior) took over after Marcus Wallenberg (junior's) death in 1982. For many outsiders, the change in leadership marked a final moment in the family's more than 100-year dominance of the Swedish banking and industrial sectors. Yet Peter Wallenberg (senior) rose to the challenge, guiding Investor and Sweden's industry into a new era. In 1990, it was estimated that the family indirectly controlled one-third of the Swedish Gross National Product. Peter Wallenberg (senior) stepped down from leadership of Investor in 1997.

In 2006, the fifth generation took over the Wallenberg sphere. Marcus Wallenberg, son of Marc Wallenberg, Jacob Wallenberg and Peter Wallenberg (junior) both sons of Peter Wallenberg (senior).

Modern business

The Wallenbergs have a very low-key public profile, eschewing conspicuous displays of wealth. The family motto is "Esse, non Videri" (Latin for "To be rather, than to seem). [7] Wallenbergs business empire is often referred to as the Wallenberg sphere, the Wallenberg sphere is a large group of companies where their investment company, Investor AB, or foundation asset management company, Foundation Asset Management (FAM), have the controlling interest.

Notable family members

Related Research Articles

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Erik Jean Christian Antoine Belfrage was a Swedish diplomat, banking executive, and political consultant. He had a career as a diplomat, working for the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs from 1970 to 1987, before moving into the private sector as vice president at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken and advisor to Investor AB. Belfrage held various leadership roles, including chairman positions at the Swedish Institute of Management, Centre for European Policy Studies, and the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, and played a significant role in the International Chamber of Commerce's initiatives on responsible business conduct.

The Marcus Wallenberg Prize is the highest award in the field of forestry. Established in 1981, the award is modeled on the Nobel Prize, and colloquially called the "Nobel Prize for Forestry". The award is named after the Swedish Industrialist Marcus Wallenberg Jr. who was managing director and subsequently chairman of Stockholms Enskilda Bank and later chairman and honorary chairman of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, as well as chairman and honorary chairman of a number of Swedish and international organisations and companies. The Marcus Wallenberg Prize was instituted by Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags AB at its annual meeting in 1980 to commemorate the services rendered by Dr. Marcus Wallenberg during his long term as member and chairman of the board of directors. Every year a selection committee decides on the recipient from nominations received from academics and research organisations. The award is awarded in the autumn of each year in Stockholm, Sweden, at a symposium consisting of lectures from the recipient and invited speakers. The 2020 Award ceremony was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. 1 2 "A Nordic pyramid". The Economist. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "Yad Vashem database". Yad Vashem. Archived from the original on 7 February 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2007. who saved the lives of tens of thousands of Jews in Budapest during World War II ... and put some 15,000 Jews into 32 safe houses.
  3. ↑ Burja, Samo (4 May 2022). "The Family That Finances Sweden". Medium. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  4. ↑ The Swedish family calendar 1989, red. Elisabeth Thorsell, Almqvist & Wiksell Internationell, Stockholm 1989 ISBN   91-22-01318-0 s.360
  5. ↑ "Authors Claim Wallenberg Family Assisted Nazis in Banking Deals". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 8 November 1989. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  6. ↑ Gowland, Rob (19 June 1996). "Banks' nazi connections exposed". The Guardian (Socialist Party of Australia).
  7. ↑ "In Sweden, a Shy Dynasty Steps Out (Published 1996)". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 26 July 2023.
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