Ax:son Johnson family

The Ax:son Johnson family (pronounced as Axelson Johnson) is a prominent Swedish business family, controlling the Axel Johnson Group and Nordstjernan.

History

In 1873, Axel Johnson founded the trading company A. Johnson & Co the predecessor of today's Axel Johnson AB.

In 1890, Axel Johnson formed the Nordstjernan shipping company, which expanded rapidly. He manage to break the international coffee monopoly, "the coffee conference", a strictly controlled pricing cartel for the transportation of coffee to Europe. Axel Johnson built, thanks to his talent, will and ambition, combined with favourable external factors, the company that was to form the basis of the Axel Johnson Group, and which was later developed by his son, Axel Ax:son Johnson (1876–1958) and the generations after him.[1]

Notable family members

References