Birgit Rausing Net Worth & Biography

Birgit Rausing was a Swedish art historian, heiress, and philanthropist who was born in 1924. She is widely popular for being the widow of Gad Rausing, the Swedish billionaire and brother of Hans Rausing, who died in 2000.

Birgit is the daughter of Swedish painter Henry Mayne. Her father-in-law Ruben Rausing founded Tetra Pak in 1944. The company completely revolutionized the packaging of liquids such as milk and juices, and was ran by Ruben until his sons Gad and Hans inherited it. In 1996, after Hans sold 50 percent of his share in the company to Gad, Birgit’s husband became the sole owner of Tetra Pak and managed it singlehandedly until his passing four years later.

Life & Career

This Swedish billionaire was born on 26 October 1924 in Vaud, Switzerland, into the family of the Swedish landscape painter Henry Mayne and his wife.  She was unknown in the media through most of her life until her marriage to Gad Rausing, whose father, Ruben Rausing, founded Tetra Pak in 1944.

Gad Rausing and his brother, Hans, took over his father’s company and succeeded in bringing Tetra Pak to stores and breakfast tables around the world. He served as the company’s vice chairman and deputy managing director of Tetra Pak, the Swedish company that filled supermarket aisles around the world with paperboard containers of juice, milk, and other products. He led the business with his brother Hans for over 30 years as its work force matured from a handful of people in Sweden to roughly 30,000 employees in different countries. The success of the family’s company, Tetra Pak, in the 1970s and 1980s, has been credited to the management of Gad and Hans Rausing, who both worked nonstoped and succeeded in evolving the six-person family business into a world-renowned establishment.

One of the wealthiest people in the world, he purchased his brother’s 50 percent share in the company in 1996 and became the sole owner of the business.

Gad Rausing and his brother grew the company and expanded into other countries, and in 1991 completed the acquisition of the engineering company Alfa-Laval, which specializes on food equipment. This acquisition resulted in the creation of a packaging conglomerate called the Tetra Laval Group. The company also sells equipment for keeping food fresh. When Hans became chief executive of Tetra Pak, the company was mainly selling tetrahedron-shaped cartons, and the yearly production of Tetra Pak cartons was less than one billion. By the time he sold his 50 percent share of the company to Gad, more than 76 billion Tetra Pak packages were being made yearly globally.

Birgit Rausing and her three children inherited the packaging giant Tetra Laval when Gad Rausing died in the year 2000.

Personal Life: Family, Children, Philanthropy

Mrs. Rausing married Gad Rausing, and remained with him as a loyal spouse until his death in 2000. They had three children together; Kristen, Finn, and Jorn.

Forbes magazine has named Birgit as the third wealthiest person in Sweden. She enjoys putting some of her wealth to charitable causes, and has become a notably respected philanthropist in her country.

In acknowledgement of the donation provided by her and her family to construct The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) library building, the library has been renamed as Gad & Birgit Rausing Library. The library was inaugurated in March 2011 by tetra Pak chief executive officer Dennis Jönsson.

Although she has generally maintained a very quiet life since the passing of her beloved husband, Birgit, who hardly makes public appearances nor make herself available in the media, has been made the subject of articles and publications on numerous occasions due to her unconventional but interesting literally secretive personal life.

Birgit Rausing Net Worth: Salary, Income Sources, Wealth Estimates

Birgit Rausing currently has a net worth of $13 billion. She is an art historian by profession, and is also known for her philanthropic efforts in Sweden.

She was known as an heiress and widow of Gad Rausing, a Swedish businessman that was well-known for his ownership of the packing company, Tetra Pak, which to this day, is considered to be the global leaders of the food packing business. Founded by his father, Ruben Rausing, Gad inherited half of the company upon the passing of his father. He then purchased the other half from his brother, running the entire company under his sole ownership until his demise.

Birgit made her wealth when she inherited her husband’s fortune upon his passing in 2000. According to Forbes magazine, Gad Rausing was the third wealthiest man in Sweden as of 2010, ten years after his demise. This wealth is now controlled by Birgit who manages the Tetra Pak Company with her three children. She falls behind her late brother-in-law, Hans Rausing, who is named as the second wealthiest person in their country.