Ivar Kreuger was a Swedish civil engineer, financier, entrepreneur and industrialist. By aggressive investments and innovative financial instruments he built a global match and financial empire.
Background
Kreuger was born on March 2, 1880 in Kalmar, Sweden, the eldest son of Ernst August Kreuger (1852-1946), an industrialist in the match industry in that city, and his wife Jenny Emelie Kreuger (née Forssman; 1856-1949). Ivar Kreuger had five siblings: Ingrid (born 1877), Helga (born 1878), Torsten (born 1884), Greta (born 1889) and Britta (born 1891).
Education
Kreuger was educated as a civil engineer at the Royal Technical University in Stockholm.
Career
In 1893 Kreuger went to the United States, where he was first engaged as a real-estate broker in Chicago and later as a superintendent of building construction in New York and other cities. He spent some time in South Africa and other parts of the world on construction commissions, and was one of the early specialists in the use of structural steel in skyscrapers. Kreuger returned to Sweden in 1907 and the following year organized Kreuger & Toll, which became one of the leading construction firms of Sweden. In 1913 he expanded his financial power by founding the United Swedish Match Company, and in 1917 organized the Swedish Match Company, a holding company which soon developed into an international match trust controlling 250 factories in 43 countries. In the same year Kreuger & Toll Company was divided into two parts, one of which became one of the largest and most important financial institutions in the world. Kreuger played an active part in the financial reconstruction of Europe by making loans to impoverished governments in return for industrial concessions. Such loans were granted to Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Latvia, France, Germany, and several other countries, and Kreuger played a prominent part in the Young Loan negotiations at The Hague. The general world economic crisis beginning in 1929 forced a collapse of his various enterprises, and on March 12, 1932, he committed suicide in Paris, France. His death was followed by the discovery of extensive financial frauds and manipulations, including falsification of balances and the forging of bonds for use as spurious assets. Kreuger's company went into bankruptcy, causing heavy losses to stockholders in Sweden and elsewhere.
Achievements
Membership
Member of the board of Kreuger & Toll, member of the board of AB Kalmar-Mönsterås Tändsticksfabrik
Connections
Ivar Kreuger never married, but lived for many years in different periods with Ingeborg Eberth (1889-1977), family name Hässler, born in Stockholm, who worked as a physical therapist in Stockholm.