Hans Rausing

Hans Rausing
Hans Rausing
Born	Hans Anders Rausing; 25 March 1926 (age 100); Gothenburg, Sweden
Died	30 August 2019 (aged 93); United Kingdom
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, philanthropist
Years active	1954–1995
Known for	Tetra Pak, philanthropy

Hans Anders Rausing, KBE (25 March 1926 – 30 August 2019), was a Swedish entrepreneur and philanthropist who resided in the United Kingdom. He inherited a significant portion of his wealth through his stake in Tetra Pak, the global leader in food packaging, originally established by his father, Ruben Rausing. In the early 1980s, Rausing moved to the UK to reduce his Swedish tax obligations; he eventually sold his half of Tetra Pak to his brother, Gad, in 1995.

In 2011, Forbes placed him at number 83 on its worldwide list of richest individuals, estimating his net worth at approximately US$10 billion. By 2013, he ranked as Sweden’s second wealthiest billionaire. Upon his passing in August 2019, the Rausing family’s combined wealth was valued by Forbes at $12 billion.

Early life

Born in Gothenburg in 1926, Rausing was the second son of industrialist Ruben Rausing and Elisabeth (née Varenius). He had two siblings: brothers Gad and Sven.

Career

Rausing pursued studies in Economics, Statistics, and Russian at Lund University, graduating in 1948. He assumed the role of managing director at Tetra Pak in 1954, with his brother Gad serving as deputy managing director. In 1985, he became chairman and departed from the company in 1993, later selling his entire 50% shareholding to Gad in 1995.

Together with Gad Rausing, Hans transformed Tetra Pak from a modest family enterprise into a global packaging powerhouse. Hans focused on Russian relations, orchestrating Tetra Pak’s initial entry into the Soviet market by securing the first export contract for packaging machinery in 1959. This strategic move established Tetra Pak as Russia’s largest foreign employer.

Patronage

Hans and Märit Rausing were notable benefactors for charitable causes and medical research at prominent institutions such as Karolinska Institutet and Lund University. Their philanthropic efforts extended through the Märit and Hans Rausing Fund, which supported various community initiatives within Sussex.

Their daughter Lisbet Rausing’s Arcadia Fund sponsors multiple projects including the Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project at SOAS, the Hans Rausing Scholarship at King's College London, as well as the Hans Rausing Chair and an annual lecture series at Uppsala University. Additionally, the University of Cambridge hosts an Annual Hans Rausing Lecture focusing on History and Philosophy of Science.

Honours and UK tax status

Hans Rausing was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lund University and held honorary professorships at both Mälardalens Högskola in Sweden and the University of Dubna in Russia. In recognition of his contributions, he was named an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 2006. He was also an honorary fellow at Cambridge’s Isaac Newton Institute and became an honorary freeman and liveryman of London’s Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers in 2011.

A report by The Guardian detailed how Rausing leveraged the UK’s "remittance basis" tax arrangement to substantially reduce UK taxation on his considerable foreign earnings. For instance, despite earning approximately £225 million in 2002, he paid UK income tax on just £1 million because most of his income remained offshore rather than being brought into the UK.

Personal life

Hans Rausing and his spouse Märit were parents to three children: two daughters, Lisbet and Sigrid, and a son named Hans Kristian.

From 2001 through 2012, Rausing and his family contributed a total of £886,000 to the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom.

Rausing made his home in the UK beginning in 1982 and continued to live there until his passing in 2019, residing at The New House located within Wadhurst Park, East Sussex.

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