In an interview with Swedish state television SVT’s Aktuellt, Swedish oligarch Jacob Wallenberg, head of the powerful Wallenberg family, speaks openly about his family’s direct contact with Sweden’s political elite, including the prime minister.
He also openly acknowledges his family’s significant influence over the Swedish economy, but denies that he has more political power than Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M).
– I can get in touch with the prime minister. I can get in touch with Magdalena Andersson, Wallenberg says.
Contact is made directly, without intermediaries such as press secretaries, and can take place several times in a short period of time depending on the situation and the issues to be discussed. Wallenberg describes it as a natural part of the family’s prominent role in society.
Wallenberg also talks about how the family is preparing the sixth generation, known as G6, to take over important positions within their extensive business empire. A “family contract” and regular meetings ensure that power remains within the family.
– We have an annual meeting and about one meeting a month where three from our generation and three from the new generation meet and go through what’s happening, he explains.
“A great responsibility”
The selection of heirs takes place within a closed circle of family members, and according to Jacob Wallenberg himself, there are strict requirements for education and experience.
The family controls large companies such as SEB, Investor, Ericsson, AstraZeneca, and Electrolux through foundations, which gives them enormous influence without direct ownership. This system, Wallenberg believes, gives the family a unique position in Swedish business and society.
– I try to balance the notion that we decide everything. Of course, it’s not quite that simple, it’s much broader and more complex than that, he asserts, continuing:
– Of course, we have a lot of power. We have a lot of say – and with that comes great responsibility
Controls a third of Sweden’s GDP
However, the Swedish oligarch denies that he has more power than Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, claiming instead that he “has a lot of say in a certain segment of the business world”.
– But there are many others who also have a lot to say. That’s how I see my everyday life and my reality, he defends himself.
The family, whose motto Esse non videri can be roughly translated as “to be, not to seem”, has long been described as perhaps Sweden’s most influential, and through its industrial empire, Wallenberg is believed to indirectly control a third of Sweden’s total GDP.
A criticized family
Criticism of the Wallenberg family’s influence has mainly focused on their unique position of power in Swedish economics and politics, which many believe is exercised without transparency or any popular mandate.
Through foundations, the family controls several of Sweden’s largest companies without having to publicly account for their decisions. Critics argue that this creates a parallel secret power system where a closed circle of heirs has disproportionate influence over the development of Swedish society.
The fact that the family has direct access to top politicians and other powerful figures, without formal channels, has also raised questions about transparency, corruption, and how much of the power in society is exercised quietly behind closed doors.
Christer Gardell, billionaire and founder of investment giant Cevian, goes so far as to claim that it is the Wallenberg family, not Sweden’s elected politicians, who have the most power and influence in Sweden.
– The Wallenbergs have a lot of power. Through Investor, the foundations, the connection to EQT and so on. So it is inevitable to put them at the top, he argues.
