Arnold Peter Møller

Arnold Peter Møller (2 October 1876 – 12 June 1965), better known as A. P. Møller, was a Danish shipping magnate and businessman who was the founder of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group in 1904.

Biography A. P. Møller was the son of captain Peter Mærsk Møller and Anna Hans Jeppesen. His mother came from a well-known shipping dynasty in Dragør and his maternal grandfather Hans Nielsen Jeppesen was known as "the King of Dragør". The Møller family moved to Svendborg on Funen after having lost a power struggle against Anna's sisters and their husbands.

In 1904, A. P. Møller and his father founded Dampskibsselskabet Svendborg (Steamship Company Svendborg) with a capital of DKK 150,000, to take advantage of business opportunities created by the introduction of steam ships. A. P. Møller went on to found Dampskibsselskabet af 1912 (Steamship Company of 1912) to be free to operate his business as he chose. In 1964, Møller joined merchant Herman Salling in a 50–50 ownership of the retail chain Dansk Supermarked. This chain went on to become the biggest retail company in Denmark. On A.P. Møller's death in 1965, his son Arnold Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller succeeded him as chairman and CEO of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group.