Ikea founder leaves fortune to no one, structures it to ensure it lasts forever

Post by goty2 » Fri, Feb 02, 2018, 2:24 PM UTC

dagw wrote: post #120

oblio wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll see if I can find the sources but I saw some comments recently that it was a sham, mostly. He did have high expenses. Edit: Wikipedia says: > Kamprad owned a villa in Switzerland, a large country estate in Sweden and a vineyard in Provence, France. I can't guarantee the prices, but those things should be in the multi-million Euro range. Not quite rapper expenses, but definitely not middle class either.

Here's a picture of his villa in Switzerland: https://w.cdn-expressen.se/images/7d/e2/7de2bbfb59044fe6bfc3... I mean it's really nice house and apparently comes with a very big garden and beautiful view of the lake, but it's hardly opulent. In a different, cheaper, part of the world a house like that would definitely be within the reach of at least someone earning a decent upper middle class salary. edit: Here is his…

Post by gaius » Fri, Feb 02, 2018, 2:33 PM UTC

bmelton wrote: post #104

gaius wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

willing to pay more taxes than you are legally required to There is a material difference between that and actively seeking loopholes that are not available to ordinary people. Ikea is only possible because of the physical and legal infrastructure paid for by those ordinary people after all. Not that they will do anything of course, the Viking spirit is long dead.

If you aren't seeking out the loopholes that apply to you, then you are paying more in taxes than you are legally required to. "legally required to" does not incur a balancing test between what is practicable vs the time it takes. If you're a regular, mid-income citizen, then there isn't likely to be a good ROI on hiring a dedicated accountant to find you loopholes. If you're making $200k a year, and you save 10%, ho…

Post by TeMPOraL » Fri, Feb 02, 2018, 2:38 PM UTC

matthewmacleod wrote: post #97

charlesdm wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Want to stop avoidance? Make proper laws. If it's legal (even through lobbying), then it is legal. And frankly I don't see why you shouldn't if you legally can. But to each their own views on this. You know who can stop avoidance? Politicians. They need to take responsibility. Feel free to shame multinationals or HNWIs for not paying taxes, but at the end of the day avoidance is only possible because politicians (or…

I can't agree with this enough. Expecting profit-motivated companies to voluntarily choose to pay more tax than they have to is fundamentally doomed to failure. One of the powers of the free market is to encourage the elimination of inefficiency and waste—not that it's perfect at that—and we can't expect to both have our cake and eat it, in that sense. I strongly agree that many companies should be contributing more…

Post by mantas » Fri, Feb 02, 2018, 2:43 PM UTC

aianus wrote: post #33

pipio21 wrote: post #9

When I was young and getting my driving license in Madrid I had to take a bus to the place were exams were done, in the south of Madrid(Mostoles). A friend of mine worked on IKEA and he told me that it was a lot of expectation as the founder had gone to Spain and it was taking the same bus that I took in order to visit the stores in Spain. It was surprising to me that someone owning billions will take the bus, while…

The testing center had their own car? Is this standard in Spain/Europe? I had to pay an instructor with a car to drive me to the testing center and let me use his car for the test while he waited around.

Post by YTGRK » Fri, Feb 02, 2018, 2:45 PM UTC