Torbjörn Törnqvist
Born1953 (age 70–71)
Stockholm, Sweden
NationalitySwedish
Alma materStockholm University
OccupationBusinessman

Torbjörn Törnqvist (born 1953) is a Swedish billionaire, and the CEO and co-founder of Gunvor, "one of the largest commodities conglomerates in the world", with the Russian billionaire, Gennady Timchenko.[1][2]

Early life

Törnqvist was born in 1953,[3] in Stockholm, Sweden.[2] He has a degree from Stockholm University.[1]

Career

Törnqvist co-founded Gunvor in 1997,[3] and he is its CEO.[2]

In 2016, he reduced his stake in Gunvor from 78% to 70%, and received a special dividend of about $1 billion, part of which went to repay his co-founder Gennady Timchenko, who sold his 44% to Törnqvist in March 2014, a day before Timchenko was sanctioned by the US for his "close ties to Vladimir Putin".[4]

Controversies

In 2017, a Swedish Radio documentary presented evidence that Gunvor had been involved in a Belarusian oil smuggling scheme under Törnqvist's watch, featuring corruption at the highest levels in the Belarus government.[5] This documentary won the 2017 Prix Europa award in the "Radio Current Affairs" category.[6] Gunvor has officially denied any wrongdoing.

Sailing

Törnqvist is a keen sailor, and the head of Artemis Racing, who have competed in the America’s Cup.[7][8]

Personal life

Törnqvist lives in Geneva, Switzerland.[1]

His first wife was Eva Birgitta Törnqvist.[9] His second wife is Natalia Törnqvist.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Torbjorn Tornqvist". Forbes.com. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Leadership". Gunvor Group. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  3. 1 2 "InterOil, LNG, Gunvor ink deal on gas scheme". The National. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  4. ↑ "Billionaire Gunvor CEO Tornqvist Cutting Stake in Oil Trader". 31 May 2016 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  5. ↑ "KGB-agenten och oljesmugglingen". 7 May 2017 – via sverigesradio.se.
  6. ↑ "Ekot-granskning om oljesmuggling prisas". 20 October 2017 – via hsverigesradio.se.
  7. ↑ "Torbjörn Törnqvist, head of Artemis Racing – Yachting World". 21 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "Artemis Racing Launches Its AC Race Boat - Bernews.com". bernews.com. 22 February 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Oljemiljardären lever livet i hundra knyck". www.aftonbladet.se.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.