Hans Anders Rausing, KBE (25 March 1926 – 30 August 2019) was a Swedish industrialist and philanthropist based in the United Kingdom. He made his fortune from his co-inheritance of
Tetra Pak
Tetra Pak is a Swedish–Swiss multinational food packaging and processing company with head offices in Lund, Sweden, and Pully, Switzerland. The company offers packaging, filling machines and processing for dairy, beverages, cheese, ice cream ...
, a company founded by his father
Ruben Rausing
Anders Ruben Rausing (; né Andersson; 17 June 1895 – 10 August 1983) was a Swedish industrialist and the founder of the liquid food packaging company Tetra Pak.
Early life
Anders Ruben Andersson was born in 1895 in Råå, a small fishing ha ...
, and the largest
food packaging
Food packaging is a packaging system specifically designed for food and represents one of the most important aspects among the processes involved in the food industry, as it provides protection from chemical, biological and physical alterations ...
company in the world. In the early 1980s Rausing moved to the United Kingdom to avoid Swedish taxes, in 1995 he sold his share of the company to his brother, Gad. In the ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' world fortune ranking, Rausing was placed at number 83 with an estimated fortune of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
10 billion in 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2019 According to ''Forbes'', he was the second richest Swedish billionaire in 2013. By the time of his death in August 2019, ''Forbes'' estimated the net worth of Rausing and his family to be $12 billion. Retrieved 31 August 2019
Early life
Rausing was born in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
in 1926, the second son of industrialist
Ruben Rausing
Anders Ruben Rausing (; né Andersson; 17 June 1895 – 10 August 1983) was a Swedish industrialist and the founder of the liquid food packaging company Tetra Pak.
Early life
Anders Ruben Andersson was born in 1895 in Råå, a small fishing ha ...
and his wife Elisabeth (née Varenius). Retrieved 30 August 2019 Rausing had two brothers, Gad and Sven. Retrieved 30 August 2019
Career
Rausing studied Economics, Statistics and Russian at
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion "Tetra Pak International SA" , ''International Directory of Company Histories'', 2003. Encyclopedia.com, retrieved 22 July 2016.
Tetra Pak's success in the 1970s and 1980s has been credited to the leadership of Hans and Gad Rausing, who turned the six-person family business into a multinational company. Over the course of his career, Rausing became a specialist in Russian affairs and made many investments in Russia and Ukraine. He was responsible for Tetra Pak's Russian market, and negotiated the first Tetra Pak machine export to the Soviet Union in 1959, eventually making Tetra Pak the largest foreign employer in Russia.
Patronage
Hans Rausing and his wife Märit donated large sums to charities and research in the UK and Sweden, among others to large medical research projects at
Karolinska Institutet
The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consist ...
and
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
.
Through her fund
Arcadia
Arcadia may refer to:
Places Australia
* Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
* Arcadia, Queensland
* Arcadia, Victoria
Greece
* Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese
* Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...
School of Oriental and African Studies
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...
(SOAS) at the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, the Hans Rausing Scholarship in the History of Science at
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
, and the Hans Rausing Chair in the History of Science at
Uppsala University
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...
, which is also hosting an annual Hans Rausing Lecture in the History of Science. The
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
Department of History and Philosophy of Science hosts an Annual Hans Rausing Lecture.
Honours and controversy
Hans Rausing received an honorary doctorate from Lund University. He was a visiting professor at Mälardalens Högskola, Sweden, and honorary professor at the
University of Dubna
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, Russia. He was made an honorary Knight Commander of the
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(KBE) in 2006. He was an honorary fellow of the
Isaac Newton Institute
The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences is an international research institute for mathematics and its many applications at the University of Cambridge. It is named after one of the university's most illustrious figures, the mathema ...
, Cambridge, and in 2011 was made an honorary freeman and liveryman at the
Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in ...
, London.
An article in the Guardian described how Hans Rausing had used the non-domicile tax loophole to legally evade taxes in the UK and Sweden for decades. While in 2002 his annual income was estimated to be over £225M the report estimated tax payments for income under £1M, this was considered legal because most of the income was foreign capital gains.
Sigrid
Sigrid is a Scandinavian given name for women from Old Norse ''Sigríðr'',
composed of the elements ''sigr'' "victory" and ''fríðr'' "beautiful".
Common short forms include Siri, Sigga, Sig, and Sigi. An Estonian and Finnish variant is Siiri ...
, and one son, Hans Kristian Rausing.
From 2001 to 2012, Rausing and his family donated £886,000 to the UK's
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
.
Rausing was a resident of the UK from 1982 until his death. He lived at
Wadhurst Park Wadhurst Park is a landed estate located in Wadhurst, East Sussex. It is owned by the Rausing family.
The estate is 796 hectares and includes a deer park of 141 hectares.
History
The original house, Wadhurst Hall, was built in 1870–1884 by Edw ...
,
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...