STOCKHOLM - The man who made billions of dollars selling people furniture they can assemble themselves has managed to build an estate bigger than anyone else on the planet, Swedish television reported on Sunday.

Ingvar Kamprad, the 77-year-old Swede who founded the IKEA retail chain, is worth $53 billion US, according to SVT2 news.

The figure puts him ahead of Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, 49, who Forbes magazine estimates is worth $47 billion US.

Sunday's broadcast report is based on an article set to appear in the Swedish business periodical, Veckans Affarer.

Kamprad's rise to the top is based largely on the drop in the U.S. dollar, according to SVT2.

The Swedish billionaire is well known for saving pennies and looking for bargains. Kamprad, who lives in Switzerland, still owns IKEA but no longer runs its daily operations.