Ingvar Kamprad Ingvar Kamprad Feodor Ingvar Kamprad (; 30 March 1926 – 27 January 2018) was a Swedish best known for founding IKEA, a multinational retail company specialising in furniture. He lived in Switzerland from 1976 to 2014. Kamprad was born in Pjätteryd (now part of Älmhult Municipality), Kronobergs län, in Småland, Sweden, to Feodor Kamprad (1893–1984) and Berta née Nilsson (1903–1956). His mother was of Swedish origin, while his father was born in Germany and came to Sweden aged one with his parents. Kamprad's paternal grandfather Achim Erdmann Kamprad was originally from Altenburger Land in Thuringia, and his paternal grandmother Franzisca
Ingvar Kamprad largest farm in the area. He committed suicide a few years after Frans Feodor was born, leaving the farm to Franzisca and with time Franz Feodor. Ingvar Kamprad lived on the farm with his parents, sister and grandmother from the age of 6. Kamprad visited his family's ancestral town in Thuringia and kept in contact with relatives there. Kamprad began to develop a business as a young boy. He started selling matches at the age of five. When he was seven he began travelling further afield on his bicycle to sell to neighbours. He found he could buy matches in