Erik Penser: a biography of the famous businessman from Sweden
Erik Penser is a Swedish businessman who was among the most influential representatives of the country’s financial market in the 1980s. He owns the Yggdrasil corporation, which manages the assets of Nobel Industrier, one of Europe’s largest producers of chemicals and paints.
Penser was born in 1942 into a family of lawyers. After high school, the young man decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and enrolled in law school. After graduation, however, Erik began his career as a stockbroker at Bankirfirman Langenskiöld, which later expanded to become the Carnegie Investment Bank. During his work in the firm, Penser gained good professional experience and also managed to accumulate capital to start his own business. In order to make money, Erik used a risky strategy. He purchased shares of various companies and used them as collateral. At the same time, he borrowed a large amount of money and invested it in a large number of projects. This move was successful, and the businessman obtained capital that allowed him to buy controlling stakes in a number of large companies in Sweden.
The 1980s were a period of excellent growth for Penser and his company Yggdrasil. At that time it controlled such large corporations as Finans AB Gamlestaden and Nobel Industrier. However, the banking crisis in Sweden from 1990 to 1994 was extremely difficult for the business. Penser failed to keep his company, and Yggdrasil acquired Nordbanken. The situation was so bad that the purchase amounted to just one krona, otherwise, Erik would have had to declare bankruptcy. At the same time, the businessman and the bank were involved in legal proceedings over the deal for a long time.
In 1992, Erik managed to get the company back, and he bought it for the same amount of 1 krona. Since then, the businessman’s business has been on the rise, and he has managed to recover capital of SEK 1 billion. Yggdrasil provides financial services to corporate clients, deals with asset management, and supports research projects. In addition to this business, Penser runs the consulting company Pensum, which helps with insurance-related issues.
In 1976, Erik moved to Great Britain, where he settled in a small village. He does not lead an active public life but is an avid collector. And Penser’s range of hobbies is quite wide, including vintage stock certificates, banknotes, old magazines, and movie posters.
