WALLENBERG

On a winter night in February 1986, just before midnight, a couple walked home from the Grand Cinema, on the central Stockholm Street of Sveavägen. Suddenly, they were attacked by a lone gunman.

They were no ordinary people: Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden, was fatally shot by a single bullet, while his wife, Lisbeth Palme, was slightly wounded by a second shot. The prominent Swedish politician and the First Lady had no bodyguards with them on that freezing evening.

The killer jogged down Tunnelgatan street, up the steps to Malmskillnadsgatan, and continued along David Bagares gata, where he was last seen. Mr. Palme was declared dead shortly after being transported to the hospital. An unprecedented manhunt began.

Two years later, in 1988, a drug dealer and addict named Christer Pettersson, a man with a serious criminal record, was accused of the murder after being identified by Mrs. Palme. The assassination of the Prime Minister in a country famous for being one of the most civilized and tranquil (even too much) shocked all of Europe. No head of state had ever been murdered in the entire Old Continent before Palme. The only assassination attempt, which failed, was the one on Pope John Paul II inside Vatican City five years earlier. In that case, the Pontiff survived.

Palme’s killing was so appalling that conspiracy theories emerged to explain the incredible event, which reminded many of the JFK assassination in the U.S.—also because Pettersson was later acquitted, and still today nobody knows who the real killer was, or why he did it.

Theories range from Palme’s anti-apartheid endorsement just one week prior, to Swedish weapons trafficking and bribery involving India. The late writer Stieg Larsson, who posthumously became a worldwide bestseller for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, spent years investigating the case. He believed Palme had been assassinated by far-right extremists in conjunction with the industrialist Wallenberg family.

It was the first time ever that the most secretive and wealthy Swedish dynasty was involved in a scandal—even if only as a rumor. For more than 150 years, they had been a silent and private power broker. But it wasn’t the first time that violent death was associated with the Wallenbergs.

In the mid-19th century, a 30-year-old Swedish man named André Oscar Wallenberg traveled to the U.S. He was the son of a bishop from Linköping, an old medieval town south of Stockholm. He had two brothers, and their father gave each of them names with meanings from ancient Greek: the oldest, Marcus Wallenberg Hilarion (“the happy one”); the middle, Jacob Agathon (“the good”); and the youngest, André (from Andreios, “the powerful”) Oscar.

The bishop’s prediction proved true about André Oscar, who became the most prominent of the three. André had a strong faith—but in finance, not Christianity. The trip to America proved to be very inspirational. In 1837, he witnessed the so-called Panic of 1837, a devastating financial crisis: it was when he “learned how banks should not be run.”

In 1856, nearly twenty years later and at the age of 50, he founded Enskilda Bank. The bank quickly became one of the most powerful financial institutions in Sweden and played a crucial role in the development of the country’s economy during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Wallenberg arranged bond loans of over 80 million SEK (billions in today’s euros) to the government, municipalities, industry, and railways.

He also became a pioneer in modern banking: just one year after opening, the bank claimed to be the first in the world to employ a woman. Thirty years later, Enskilda introduced pension schemes for employees. When Oscar died, the chairmanship passed to his son Knut Agathon, whose name continued the family’s tradition of well-wishing Greek names.

Banking helped the Wallenbergs build a unique position in Swedish business.

Some shadows appeared as well. During World War II, the family was accused of collaborating with Nazi Germany, and the U.S. Government placed the bank on a blacklist. But this incident paled in comparison to the tragedy that would later shake the family.

In 1972, the bank merged with Skandinaviska Banken to become Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, or SEB, which is the name the bank still trades under today.

Officially, the merger was intended to make the bank more competitive in international markets. However, the main reason was political: at the time, Sweden was governed by a strongly left-oriented Social Democratic party, which imposed strict restrictions on banks and private companies. Only a certain level of profit was allowed.

When Enskilda Bank tried to expand, the Swedish government blocked the action.

The merger, therefore, was a trick to bypass the law and make room for more profits. But problems arose: Skandinaviska Banken was about three times larger than Enskilda. For the first time in the dynasty’s history, the Wallenbergs were divided over a major decision. Chairman Marcus Wallenberg Junior pushed for the deal, while former chairman Jacob Wallenberg, son of Knut, strongly opposed it.

The rift culminated in tragedy when, in November 1971, the bank’s CEO, Marc Wallenberg—one of the top negotiators of the merger—committed suicide, leaving the family without a natural successor in the banking business.

The bank survived the family crisis and became one of the largest in Sweden. Until recently, it remained a forward-looking business: 10 years ago, SEB sold its retail banking operations in Ukraine to Eurobank Group. As the Ukrainian war erupted in 2022, with many European companies stuck with millions in losses, that early exit proved to be one of their best decisions ever.

After Marc’s suicide, the family kept a controlling stake in SEB. Meanwhile, they expanded into a wide range of industries: telecommunications, mining, energy, and more. Some of the most prominent Nordic multinationals are associated with the Wallenbergs.

The list includes Ericsson, Electrolux, ABB, and Atlas Copco. But perhaps the most strategic stake is in SAAB, the Swedish aerospace and defense company famous for producing fighter jets and military aircraft, including the Tempest project, a sixth-generation air striker.

This vast portfolio earned the Wallenbergs the nickname “The Swedish Rothschilds”. In addition to their financial success, the family is also known for philanthropy: they have founded several nonprofit foundations supporting education, health, and the arts, including the Wallenberg Theatre in Stockholm.

Recently, they’ve extended their generosity to environmental sustainability - the new global trend. Not everything goes on to the public, though: the family is also credited with a vast private art collection, including works by Claude Monet and Edgar Degas.

1982 marked a pivotal year. Peter Wallenberg Senior, grandson of Marcus Wallenberg Junior, took over the family’s holding company, Investor AB, which had been created in 1916. The change in leadership was not initially well received: critics said this marked the end of the family’s century-long dominance of Swedish banking and industry.

But Peter rose to the challenge. He transformed Investor AB into the family's flagship business and began actively restructuring the companies in their portfolio. The most successful move was likely the creation of Stora Enso, Europe’s largest paper and packaging company.

Today, Investor AB, listed on the London Stock Exchange, manages €70 billion in assets and €20 billion in profit.

How do you keep a family focused for generations?

First, you educate them well. Several Wallenbergs have attended Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford.

The Stockholm archipelago, made up of 24,000 islands, is their ideal hideout. The family holds meetings at a private estate on Värmdö, the largest island in the archipelago, where tennis star Björn Borg also built a villa.

The “Nazi Affair” was likely also connected to the family's greatest tragedy: the disappearance of Raoul Wallenberg, the family’s most famous member, a diplomat credited with saving thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II. His heroic efforts earned him international praise—but he disappeared in 1945, likely killed by the Soviet Union.

In 2015, it was revealed that another family member, Jacob Wallenberg, had been a target of Russian espionage by the FSB, formerly known as the KGB.

When you have money, Europe becomes a playground. It’s easy to shop in Milan, dance in Paris, study in London, and relax in Stockholm. In the 1970s, Marcus Wallenberg, then CEO of Investor AB, frequently shared parties and events with his friend Gianni Agnelli, patriarch of the Agnelli family and owner of Fiat.

The two shared a passion for sailing and often competed in regattas. At that time, both Saab and Fiat faced challenges: Saab lacked a small vehicle lineup, while Fiat needed a larger car. In 1978, they found a solution. Saab sold the A112, a small car from Autobianchi (a Fiat subsidiary), in Sweden. In return, Fiat collaborated with Saab on the Type 4 project, giving rise to three iconic Italian sedans: the Lancia Thema, Fiat Croma, and Alfa Romeo 164.

Later, Saab was sold to General Motors and Fiat went through major financial crises.

Nevertheless, the families continued working together. In 1989, the Wallenbergs acquired a 25% stake in Italian insurer La Fondiaria, controlled by the Agnellis. The firm held a strategic stake in Mediobanca, the core of Italian finance.

Most recently, in 2017, Investor AB purchased a 30% stake in U.S. truck manufacturer Navistar, which had a joint venture with CNH Industrial, another Agnelli-controlled firm.

It really is a small world.