Ingvar Kamprad started IKEA in 1943 at age 16 in Sweden by selling mail order goods like picture frames and stockings. IKEA's vision is to provide well-designed, affordable home furniture to allow people to have a better everyday life. IKEA achieves low prices by having customers assemble products themselves. Today, IKEA operates in 24 countries with over 21 billion euros in annual sales and 1,700 suppliers in 50 countries, with Kamprad and his family among the richest people in the world.