Lego billionaires’ cash pile grows as portfolio swings to profit

THE billionaire owners of the Lego empire reported a 5.9 per cent rise in profits, helped by a turnaround in its investment portfolio.

The Kirkbi group’s net income rose to 11.3 billion kroner (S$2.2 billion) in 2023, according to a statement on Tuesday (Apr 2). The entity’s total assets declined 1.4 per cent to about US$23.5 billion after one of the family owners pulled out some or her funds for private investments.

Late last year, Sofie Kirk Kristiansen, the great-granddaughter of Lego’s founder, sold shares in Kirkbi for close to US$1 billion, saying she will invest in nature conservation projects.

Kirkbi reported a swing to profit in its investment activities to 3.66 billion kroner in 2023 from a 4.08 billion-krone loss a year before. The portfolio includes stocks, bonds and real estate.

The return was “satisfactory, with especially the fixed income, quoted equity and the real estate portfolios showing relatively strong returns,” Kirkbi said. The fund’s main asset, a 75 per cent stake in Lego, the maker of the colorful toy bricks, contributed with less profit in 2023 than a year earlier.

Kirkbi is controlled by the fourth generation of the billionaire Kirk Kristiansen family after Thomas Kirk Kristiansen took over as chairman from his father, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, last year.

Thomas, Sofie and their sister Agnete Kirk Thinggaard as well as their father Kjeld are worth more than a combined US$24.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg billionaires Index. BLOOMBERG