Anders Holch Povlsen Danish billionaire, CEO and sole owner of the international clothing chain Bestseller Date of Birth: 04.11.1972 Country: Denmark

1. Early Life and Business Accomplishments
2. Extensive Land Ownership in Scotland
3. Properties in Denmark and Romania
4. Personal Life and Family Tragedy
5. The Easter Sunday Bombings in Sri Lanka

Early Life and Business Accomplishments

Anders Holch Povlsen, a Danish billionaire, CEO, and sole owner of the international clothing brand Bestseller, was born on November 4, 1972, in Ringkøbing, Denmark, to Troels and Merete. His parents' first family store opened in 1975 in the small Danish town, with a population of only 7,000. Soon after, additional stores flourished.

At just 28 years old, Anders became the sole owner of Bestseller, the largest shareholder of the UK online retailer Asos.com. Bestseller includes companies Vero Moda and Jack&Jones, founded by Povlsen's parents. The billionaire's family, along with two Danish partners, invested in Bestseller Fashion Group China, a company that designs its collections for 5,000 stores in China. Anders serves as Bestseller's CEO.

In 2013, Povlsen acquired 10% of the shares in German online fashion retailer Zalando, becoming Zalando's third-largest shareholder. He also owns 27% of ASOS.com, the UK's largest pure-play online retailer. As of April 2019, Anders' net worth was valued at $8 billion.

Extensive Land Ownership in Scotland

From 2018 to 2019, Povlsen was reported to own 221,000 acres of land in Scotland, making him the largest private landowner. As early as 2012, he owned 120,000 acres when he purchased the 24,000-acre Ben Loyal Estate and the 18,000-acre Kinloch Lodge Estate, both in Sutherland. Previously, the Dane had acquired a 47,000-acre estate in Inverness-shire in 2006 and three acres near Fort William in 2008.

Along with Povlsen, Prince Charles and Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster, are other prominent Scottish landowners. In 2013, Anders was reported to be second only to Richard Scott, 10th Duke of Buccleuch, owner of Buccleuch Estates, with around 280,000 acres, after acquiring an additional 20,000 acres in Inverness-shire, bringing his total to 150,000 acres.

Povlsen purchased land in the Borders specifically to exchange it with Forestry Commission Scotland for 1,000 acres of woodland, expanding his 43,000-acre Glenfeshie Estate, south of Aviemore. Purchased in 2006, Povlsen extended the Glenfeshie Estate with the purchase of the neighboring 4,000-acre Killiehuntly farm. In 2015, Povlsen spent £15 million to acquire Aldourie Castle on the banks of Loch Ness. In October 2016, he purchased the Eriboll Estate in Sutherland for £7 million.

Anders' ambition is to connect his adjacent estates and rewild them. He planned to involve his four children, Agnes, Alma, Astrid, and Alfred, in his 200-year restoration program.

Properties in Denmark and Romania

In Denmark, the landowner resides at the historic Constantinsborg Estate west of Aarhus, owning extensive farmland and forests.

Povlsen has also acquired land in the Romanian Carpathians, aiming to create a sanctuary for wolves, bears, and lynx.

Personal Life and Family Tragedy

Anders is married to Anne Storm-Pedersen, whom he met when she joined Bestseller's sales department. Three of the couple's four children were killed in the April 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, where the family was on vacation. The names of the deceased children have not been released.

The Easter Sunday Bombings in Sri Lanka

The Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka took place at three Catholic churches and four hotels, killing at least 359 people and injuring approximately 500; 39 foreigners, including eight British nationals, were confirmed among the dead.

Rajitha Senaratne, Sri Lanka's government spokesman, stated: "We don't believe this was carried out by a group of people who are only in our country. Without an international network, these attacks could not have taken place."

Police sources confirmed that the bombers who attacked the Shangri La Hotel had "materials and books" linked to extremist Islamist ideology in their room.

The terrorists had occupied room 616 in the hotel, where investigators found, among other items, two iPhone chargers. Local media reported that at least 25 kg of C-4 explosives was used at the Shangri La, although no official confirmation from a government analyst was immediately available.

Both the local Islamist terrorist group National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) and the Islamic State have claimed responsibility for the attacks.

A fortnight before the attacks, Pujith Jayasundara, Sri Lanka's police chief, had issued an alert based on foreign intelligence that Islamist suicide bombers were planning to target "prominent churches" as well as the Indian High Commission in Colombo.

NTJ is a small radical Muslim group with no previous history of carrying out deadly attacks. However, it gained notoriety last year for allegedly vandalizing and defacing Buddhist statues.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe acknowledged that the warning had been received ten days prior to the bombings but emphasized that he had not been made aware of it personally. "We must find out why adequate precautions were not taken," Wickremesinghe said. "Neither I nor the other ministers were informed."