Torbjörn Törnqvist (born 1953) is a Swedish billionaire, and the CEO and co-founder of

Gunvor Gunvor Group Ltd is a multinational energy commodities trading company registered in Cyprus, with its main trading office in Geneva, Switzerland. Gunvor also has trading offices in Singapore, Houston, Stamford, London, Calgary, and Dubai, with ...

, "one of the largest commodities conglomerates in the world", with the Russian billionaire, Gennady Timchenko.

Early life

Törnqvist was born in 1953, in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden. He has a degree from

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

Career

Törnqvist co-founded Gunvor in 1997 and is its CEO. Since its founding, Gunvor has grown to become one of the largest

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

trader in the world. In 2016, he reduced his stake in Gunvor from 78% to 70%, and received a special dividend of about $1 billion, part of which went to repay his co-founder Gennady Timchenko, who sold his 44% to Törnqvist in March 2014, a day before Timchenko was sanctioned by the US for his "close ties to Vladimir Putin".

Philanthropy

Since 2000, Gunvor has allocated a percentage of its profits towards charity through the Gunvor Foundation. He is an active supporter of AIK Hockey and has pumped approximately 12 million SEK ($ USD) into the team.

Sailing

Törnqvist is a keen sailor, and the head of Artemis Racing, who have competed in the

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

. He played a key role in Sweden's return to the sport.

Personal life

Törnqvist lives in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Switzerland. His first wife was Eva Birgitta Törnqvist. His second wife is Natalia Törnqvist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Törnqvist, Torbjörn 1953 births Living people Businesspeople from Stockholm Swedish expatriates in Switzerland Stockholm University alumni Swedish company founders Swedish billionaires Artemis Racing sailors Swedish male sailors (sport) 20th-century Swedish sportsmen