Six Danes among world’s richest people

Lego heir, clothing and footwear company owners, and healthcare executives are among the ranks

Six Danes have made Forbes’ recently published list of 2013 billionaires, which covers 1,426 people and a combined net worth of $5.4 trillion.

At the head of the Danish list is Lego heir Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, who ranked the 158th wealthiest in the world, boasting a net worth of 41.9 billion kroner. Kristiansen enjoyed a 25-year tenure as the head of Lego until he stepped down in 2004.

The next Dane on the list is the founder and owner of home furniture chain Jysk, Lars ‘Duvet’ Larsen, ranked as 363th in the world with a net worth of 21.2 billion kroner. This year, Larsen’s net worth overtook that of Anders Holch Povlsen, the owner and head of clothing company Bestseller, who ranked the third wealthiest in Denmark and 589th in the world at 14.3 billion kroner.

Niels Peter Louis-Hansen, the head of Danish healthcare company Coloplast, ranked just below Povlsen with 13.8 billion kroner, making him 613th on the Forbes list.

The only Danish woman to qualify was Hanni Toosbuy Kasprzak, the owner of footwear company Ecco. Kasprzak sailed into 974th place overall and fifth in Denmark with a net worth of 8.6 billion kroner. Kasprzak beat out Bent Jensen, who took the final Danish ranking with 6.3 billion kroner and the 1,268th spot. Jensen made the Forbes Billionaires list for the first time this year and is the head of Danish technology firm Linak.

Denmark and Norway boasted six billionaires each, but both were beat out by Sweden’s fourteen. The United States led the list with 442 billionaires, while the richest man in the world is once again Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim with a fortune of 418 billion kroner.

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