The Wallenberg family\u2019s main philanthropic vehicle, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation (KAW), which celebrated its 100th anniversary this year, is the second-biggest backer of basic scientific research in Europe, having distributed SKr24bn or $2.7bn in its lifetime.<\/p>\n
As much as the foundation has done for science in Europe, and specifically in Sweden where it has made the Scandinavian country of 10m people a research powerhouse, it is also the secret ingredient in what is arguably Europe\u2019s most powerful business family.<\/p>\n
It is the foundation \u2014 and not the family \u2014 that owns stakes in companies such as Ericsson, Electrolux, AstraZeneca and Nasdaq. It is this that the Wallenbergs credit with giving them such longevity and avoiding the squabbles that have hampered other dynasties. \u201cIt would not have been possible to get to the fifth generation without it being a foundation,\u201d says Peter Wallenberg Jr, 57, the chairman of KAW.<\/p>\n
The KAW foundation gave out about SKr1.8bn last year, equivalent to the entire amount it distributed from its inception in 1917 to 1991. Alice and Knut, who at the time was also Sweden\u2019s foreign minister, had built up a fortune in stakes in Swedish companies but they had no children. So they put their investments \u2014 a relatively small endowment of SKr20m that would now be valued at around SKr570m or $64m \u2014 in a foundation with the aim of promoting scientific research and education that is landsgagneligt, a concept meaning \u201cbeneficial to Sweden\u201d. The endowment has now grown to SKr90bn ($10bn).<\/p>\n
The family, descended through one of Knut\u2019s brothers, have largely run the foundation and many of the companies since then, but without any ownership stake. Foundation ownership is common in Scandinavia but it is far from universally accepted. Marcus Wallenberg has said: \u201cFrankly, some of the other family companies cannot understand. [They say] \u2018Why are you doing this? You have no stake in the game?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The Wallenbergs, however, remain convinced. \u201cWe work our butts off in the financial part but we do it for another reason and that is the development of Sweden. It is how we have been brought up,\u201d says Peter Wallenberg Jr, who has begun preparing the sixth generation for their responsibilities.<\/p>\n