Ivar was born on the second of March 1880 in Kalmar. He was the oldest son of Ernst and Jenny Kreuger. His father was consul and a businessman in the match industry. His parents already had two daughters. Ingrid was born in 1877 and Helga in 1878. Ivars little brother Torsten is born in 1884, Greta in 1889 and Britta in 1896. In 1896 Ivar takes his A-levels and goes to Tekniska Högskolan in Stockholm. He graduates in mechanical technology in 1899 and in road and water construction in 1900. After his graduation Ivar goes to USA, Mexico, England, Germany and South Africa before returning to Sweden, where he starts the construction company Kreuger & Toll in 1908 with his friend Paul Toll. They specialize in ferroconcrete, using the new Khan method, and soon they are the countrys leading company.  They build the foundation of the City Hall in Stockholm, the Årsta bridge and the Stadion, built for the Olympic games in 1912. Through his brother Torsten he becomes involved in the match manufacturing and founds Aktiebolaget Sveriges Förenade Tändsticksfabriker in March 1913. At the same time he orders his first boat - the Loris. He now starts buying and founding a number of companies. In 1914 Sikfors Kraft AB is purchased. In 1915 the real estate company Hufvudstaden is founded. In 1916 Bryn & Haldens Match factory is purchased, and thereby he controlles 40 % of the Norwegian match industry.  In 1917 Svenska Tändsticks Aktiebolaget STAB is founded together with the holding company Kreuger & Toll. Julius Sjögren AB, AB Byggnadsvaror and Mälardalens Tegelbruk AB are purchased. In 1918 Kreuger controlles the match market in Finland and Denmark and buys Affärsbanken. In 1919 Svensk Filmindustri - SF - is founded as a daughter company to Hufvudstaden. In 1924 Ivar is host to the moviestars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, who together with Greta Garbo are invited to make a trip in the Loris. In 1925 the Swedish-American Investment Corporation is founded in New York, Deutshe Unionbank and Hollandshe Koopmansbank are established, Kreuger buys the share majority in SKF, Separator and Stora Kopparberg and gets monopoly of the match industry in Peru and Manchuria. In 1926 the monopoly includes Greece, Algeria, Canada and Switzerland.  In 1912 Swedish Match is founded, and the monopoly now includes France, Belgium, Japan, Ecuador and the Fillippines. The largest match factories are placed in England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. In 1928 he monopolises Germany, Rumania, Latvia, Yugoslavia, Portugal and Czechoslovakia. SCA is founded and Boliden Gruvaktiebolag is purchased. In 1930 the monopoly includes Danzig, Lithuania, Bolivia, Turkey and Guatemala. Banque St Phalle is purchased.  Kreuger has given out 1,3 billion SEK worth of Gouvernement loans to buy match monopolies - 125 millions worth in Germany alone. The effects of the krasch in 1929 are beginning to get obvious. In 1931 Kreuger sells LM Eriksson to ITT, but the deal is cancelled. On the 12 of March Ivar Kreuger is found dead in his Paris appartement. His group of companies goes into bankruptcy.