Investing for the Long Term: Six Generations and Going Strong - Wallenbergs of Sweden

In December 2015, Swedish-English drug giant AstraZeneca plc collaborated with the Swedish government and the Wallenberg family to invest US$ 100 million in a new research venture in a bid to reinforce the company’s ties with Sweden. The Wallenberg family was AstraZeneca’s biggest shareholder with a shareholding of 4.1%. A year earlier, the Wallenberg family had also played a crucial role in thwarting Pfizer, Inc.’s US$ 100 billion takeover bid of AstraZeneca.

The powerful Wallenberg family, which hailed from Sweden, held sway over a 159-year-old business empire that comprised companies in various industries that included pharmaceuticals, defense, manufacturing, and finance. They held controlling stakes in many of Sweden’s biggest multinationals, which made them one of the foremost business dynasties in the world with a business empire worth US$ 250 billion. .