Carl Stefan Erling Persson (Swedish: [ˈsteːfan ˈpæʂɔn]; born 4 October 1947) is a Swedish business magnate. In March 2013, Forbes reported Persson's net worth as $28 billion[2] making him the richest of Sweden's 12 billionaires[2] and the 17th richest person in the world.[3] Persson is the chairman and main shareholder in fashion company H&M, which was founded by his father Erling Persson in 1947.[4] Persson took over the company from his father in 1982 and served as its manager until 1998. Persson 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 amount of properties in London, Paris and Stockholm.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Persson had a net worth of US $31.9 billion in 2014, making him the 17th richest person in the world.[5]