Sweden's most powerful in entertainment

The Swedish entertainment industry's power index is less about looks than you'd expect. 

  • Jonas Gardell, author and comedian. Photo: Frankie Fouganthin
  • Most powerful in the entertainment biz
    Who is most powerful on Sweden's cultural and entertainment stage? What criteria do you use for such a list? Real power or influence? For sure opinions differ here, but a list of the most powerful 50 Swedes was recently created by metro.se and here are the top ten according to the news site:
    1. Jonas Gardell, author and comedian. Why was he chosen? Well, Swedish Television called him up last summer saying: “For Good Friday we would like two hours of televised entertainment, prime time. You get a bag of money. Do whatever you want.” Nobody else in Sweden is in that particular position to be asked something like that. Gardell has been active for almost 30 years.
    2. Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify. When Ek was 13 he sat in his room in Rågsved, a Stockholm suburb, drawing up the guidelines for his first IT-company. Today he’s richer than Mick Jagger.
    3. Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, Minister for Culture and Sports. Liljeroth has been at her post for seven years, what she’s accomplished might be up for discussion, but her power in Sweden’s cultural life is indisputable.
    4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, soccer player. While he is “only” a soccer player, Ibrahimovic’ power extends and spills over into the entertainment industry as well. His recent biography “Jag är Zlatan Ibrahimovic” is one of the most sold, hardcover books in Sweden.
    5. Eva Hamilton, journalist and current managing director for SVT (Swedish Television) – a huge thing to be in Swedish entertainment business. The responsibility that rests on her shoulders is elusive, but her deed has been impressive: She began by saving a quarter of a billion SEK and then went through a dense jungle of license inquiries, internal conflicts, and an increasing competition.
    6. Stellan Skarsgård – actor.
    7. The Swedish House Mafia (Steve Angello, Axwell, and Sebastian Ingrosso) – a Swedish electronic dance music trio.
    8. Karin Gunnarsson, Germund Stenhag, and Linda Nordeman – these three choose the music Swedes listen to on the radio station P3.
    9. Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson, authors and TV personalities, hosts of the popular TV show “Filip och Fredrik”
    10. Jonas Bonnier, managing director for Bonnier, the publishing house.

  • Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify. Photo: Patrik Ragnarsson