'I am too busy to die': Ingvar Kamprad

Ingvar Kamprad, the 86-year-old founder of Swedish furniture giant Ikea says he has no plans to retire and rejects any idea of the company going public.

• Ikea founder passes torch to three sons (17 Sep 12)
• Ikea denies reports of founder's retirement (17 Sep 12)

Kamprad's statements appeared in an interview published in the latest edition of Swiss business magazine Bilanz.

"The company will never go to the market," Ingvar Kamprad told the magazine.

"We want to keep strict self-financing."

Named by Swiss media in June as Europe's richest man with an estimated
fortune of $37.5 billion, including holdings in the family-owned foundation, Lake Geneva resident Kamprad also rubbished recent reports that he intended to step down.

"Oh, I have so much work to do and no time to die," he said, in an apparent
reference to reports in the Swedish media in September that he was about to
pass the baton to his three sons Peter, Jonas and Mathias.

In the interview, Kamprad also spoke about alleged disputes with his sons,
all of whom have key roles in the business that employs 131,000 people in 41
countries, according to Bilanz.

"We do not always agree. But that's normal in a family," Kamprad said.

Despite his enormous wealth Kamprad confirmed his reputation for frugality,
saying he lived "humbly and privately."

Kamprad, who founded Ikea in 1943 in his home town of Älmhult in southern
Sweden, has faced harsh criticism in the past for his ties to the Nazi youth
movement during World War II.

He later described the period as the "folly of youth" and "the greatest
mistake of my life."

AFP/The Local/nr
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