The Törnqvist family is one of the wealthiest in Sweden due to their ownership position in Gunvor, a major oil and energy trading corporation.
The company was co-founded by current CEO Torbjörn Törnqvist, who partnered with Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko in 2000. Törnqvist studied economics at Stockholm University before cutting his teeth with the oil producing giant British Petroleum (BP) from 1977 to 1983. He moved on to the position of Head of Oil Trading at Scandinavian Trading Co AB and then to the Intermaritime Group Petrotrade, where he served as Managing Director for the oil division.
Törnqvist carried all his expertise and experience in the oil business to Gunvor, which he named after his mother. After his first marriage to Eva Birgitta Törnqvist came to end, Torbjörn married Natalia, with whom he had a son, Markus, in 2009.
Alongside his passion for oil trading, Torbjörn Törnqvist is an avid sportsman and adventurer. He represented Sweden twice in the prestigious international yacht race, America’s Cup. He is also an experienced skier and tennis player, as well having an ownership stake in AIK Football in the Swedish Premier League. Forbes estimates the Törnqvist family’s net worth at $2.7 billion.