http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/7/36782.html

The Swedish founder of the IKEA furniture chain has passed Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates as the world's richest person, according to reports out of Sweden. Business weekly Veckans Affarer is set to report that Kamprad holds a fortune of 400 billion crowns or $53 billion. This would put him $6 billion ahead of Gates.

If you think about it, Microsoft and IKEA are not terribly dissimilar. Both companies sell fairly mediocre mass produced gear that requires a lot of assembly and attention. But apparently this model pays quite well.

because he is a "smålänning", always travels economic class, and never takes drinks out of the minibars in the hotells (brings his own drinks)...and once I heard him at the market in Lausanne, telling his wife "no, don´t buy those potatoes, they are 10 rappen cheaper a bit further down the street..."....you see, that´s the way it works....