John Fredriksen

Last updated

John Fredriksen
Stelios meeting1989.jpg
Fredriksen (centre) and Stelios Haji-Ioannou (far left) at a meeting in 1989.
Born (1944-05-10) 10 May 1944 (age 80)
Eidsvoll, Norway
NationalityCypriot
Occupation(s)Businessman
shipping magnate
Known forOwner of Golden Ocean Group
Owner of Deep Sea Supply
Owner of Frontline Ltd.
Shareholder of Overseas Shipholding Group
SpouseMarried
Children2

John Fredriksen (born 10 May 1944) is a Norwegian-born Cypriot oil tanker and shipping billionaire businessman based in London. He owns the world's largest oil tanker fleet and has major interests in the offshore driller Seadrill, the fish farming company Mowi, and the dry bulk company Golden Ocean Group. Through his investment companies Hemen Holdings and Meisha, Fredriksen controls the companies Frontline, Avance Gas Holding Ltd. and Flex LNG Ltd. In 2010–2011, Frontline owned 9.6 percent of another large tanker company, Overseas Shipholding Group. [1]

Contents

Born in Oslo, Norway, Fredriksen is now a naturalised Cypriot citizen. [2] [3] Before abandoning his Norwegian citizenship, he was Norway's richest man. [4] Norwegian magazine Kapital listed Fredriksen in 2013 with a net worth of NOK 69,75 billion (US$11.9 billion). [5] [6] In 2012, he was included in the 50 Most Influential list of Bloomberg Markets Magazine. He was named in the top 10 most influential people in the shipping industry according to Lloyds List 2014. [7]

Early and personal life

Fredriksen was born on 10 May 1944 to a welder and his wife, and grew up in Etterstad, in the eastern half of Oslo.[ citation needed ]

Fredriksen is a widower and has two twin daughters (born 1983): Cecilie and Kathrine Astrup Fredriksen. Fredriksen's late wife, dentist Inger Astrup Fredriksen (died 2006), originally belonged to one of the Astrup families in Norway. Her father was a professor of psychiatry, and her grand uncle was the painter Nikolai Astrup.[ citation needed ]

Career

Business

Frederiksen first got into oil trading in the 1960s in Beirut, Lebanon, before buying his first tankers in the 1970s. [8] He made his fortune during the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, when his tankers picked up oil at great risk and huge profits. As described by his biographer, "he was the lifeline to the Ayatollah." Fredriksen would later become the world's largest tanker owner, with more than seventy oil tankers and major interests in oil rigs and fish farming. His fleet is dominated by costly double-hulled, environmentally safer tankers. [9]

In 2006, Seadrill bought more than 50 percent of Smedvig, gaining control of the company (51.24 percent of the votes and 52.27 percent of the capital). Smedvig is Fredriksen's biggest ever deal. Noble Corp sold its stake to Seadrill in 2009, leaving Seadrill with full control. [10] Fredriksen has been the majority owner of Vålerenga I.F. for many years.[ citation needed ]

Fortune

The Sunday Times Rich List has ranked Fredriksen's wealth as £475m (2003), £1.050b (2004), £1.887b (2005), £8.311b (2023). [11] In 2012, Fredriksen and his family were listed as the 9th richest in Britain with a combined wealth of £6.6bn. [12] Fredriksen owns houses in London, Oslo, Cyprus, and Marbella, Spain. His house The Old Rectory in London has been estimated to be worth around US$172 million. [13] He is a collector of classic Norwegian art. [14]

Philanthropy

Fredriksen claims to support research projects at The Radium Hospital and to have donated several hundreds of millions of Norwegian kroner to medical research at hospitals in Norway. [15]

Gard case

In 1985, the Norwegian insurance company Gard became suspicious about losses of cargo from Fredriksen's tankers. A private investigation was initiated, and a system for the use of heavy oil as bunker fuel was revealed. [16] The case was turned over to the Norwegian police and in June 1986 Fredriksen's offices in Oslo were searched and several of his nearest associates, and after a while also Fredriksen, were placed in detention while the case was investigated. [17]

After several years of arguments between the various lawyers, the case was settled out of court. Fredriksen had to pay a fine of 2 million NOK [18] for risking his crew's lives, and in addition had to pay the insurance company Gard an amount of over US$800,000. [19]

Related Research Articles

The foreign relations of Norway are based on the country's membership in NATO and within the workings of the United Nations (UN). Additionally, despite not being a member of the European Union (EU), Norway takes a part in the integration of EU through its membership in the European Economic Area. Norway's foreign ministry includes both the minister of foreign affairs and minister of international development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frontline Ltd.</span>

Frontline PLC is the world's fourth largest oil tanker shipping company, based in Limassol, Cyprus and controlled by John Fredriksen. Its primary business is transporting crude oil. As of 2008 the company had one of the world's largest tanker fleets consisting of VLCC, Suezmax and Suezmax OBO carriers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilmar Reksten</span> Norwegian businessman

Hilmar August Reksten was a Norwegian shipping magnate. In the autumn of 1973 he was counted among the world's richest men, possessing a fleet worth about £300,000,000. At his death in 1980, all was lost; he left behind a debt of about £100,000,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petter Stordalen</span> Norwegian billionaire businessman

Petter Anker Stordalen Bjorvand is a Norwegian businessman. With an estimated net worth of US$1 billion as of 2023, he is the owner of the Strawberry Group, a conglomerate of ten companies in hotels, shopping centers, real estate, finance, and art. Through Strawberry Hospitality Group, he owns Strawberry, consisting of over 230 hotels and 17,000 employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">24SevenOffice</span> Norwegian software company

24SevenOffice is a Norwegian software company with headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and offices in Stockholm, Sweden and London, UK. Founded in 1997, the company specializes in web-based (SaaS) ERP and CRM systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Norway</span> Former Norwegian regional airline, 2003–2017

Air Norway AS was a regional airline with its head office in the town of Brekstad, the administrative centre of the municipality of Ørland, in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It operated seven round trips a week from its hub at Ørland Airport to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and a single, weekly round trip from Oslo to Aalborg Airport, Denmark, using a wet lease Fairchild Metro aircraft from North Flying. The airline was established in 2003. Following the bankruptcy of Coast Air in January 2008, the airline stepped in and was serving Fagernes Airport, Leirin with two daily flights to Oslo, and one daily flight to Trondheim, but these were terminated in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seadrill</span>

Seadrill is an offshore drilling contractor providing worldwide offshore drilling services to the oil and gas industry. Its primary business is the ownership and operation of drillships, semi-submersible rigs, and jack-up rigs for operations in shallow to ultra-deep water in both benign and harsh environments. It provides a contract-based service and primarily serves the oil super-majors, integrated oil and gas, state-owned national oil, and independent oil and gas companies.

Smedvig ASA, ("Smedvig"), was a Norwegian offshore oil rig company headquartered in Stavanger until it was acquired by rig newcomer SeaDrill of tanker mogul John Fredriksen. At time of the merger Smedvig operated two semi submersibles, one drillship and one jack up rig in the Norwegian and British sector of the North Sea. A fleet of seven tender rigs were operated in South East Asia from the Singaporean subsidiary Smedvig Asia. As part of the merger, Smedvig's staff was transferred to Seadrill with Smedvig senior personnel assuming key positions in Seadrill. Smedvig was delisted from the OSE and NYSE, while Seadrill is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Sydvaranger AS is an iron ore mining company in Sør-Varanger Municipality, Norway. The mining operations have not restarted. With an open-pit mine in Bjørnevatn, it has traditionally hauled the ore with the Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line to Kirkenes for processing and shipping.

Tor Olav Trøim is a Norwegian businessman and engineer. He used to hold a number of executive and board positions in John Fredriksen-controlled companies, and was often described as his right hand. Trøim graduated as MSc Naval Architect from the University of Trondheim, Norway in 1985. Trøim is a Norwegian citizen and is resident in the UK. His career includes Portfolio Manager Equity in Storebrand ASA, and CEO for the Norwegian Oil Company DNO AS (1992–1995).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyprus–Norway relations</span> Bilateral relations between Cyprus and Norway

Cyprus–Norway relations are foreign relations between Cyprus and Norway. Diplomatic relations were established on 22 March 1963. The government in Cyprus considers that the "bilateral relations between Cyprus and Norway are excellent in all fields". Neither country has resident ambassadors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trygve Hegnar</span> Norwegian businessman and editor

Trygve Hegnar is a Norwegian businessman, investor and chief editor of the business magazines Kapital and Finansavisen, founded by Hegnar himself in 1971 and 1992 respectively. He is a billionaire in NOK.

Harald Karsten Maurice Langemyhr is a Norwegian businessman who been indicted by Norwegian prosecuting authority and is scheduled for a 14-week trial in Oslo Tingrett starting September 5, 2011.

Ansic AS, trading as FlyNonstop, was a virtual airline which operated out of Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik, Norway, in 2013. The airline had a 100-passenger Embraer 190 operated by Denim Air. FlyNonstop was owned by Espen Hennig-Olsen, and focused on full service on flights to primary airports serving the tourist market. The company slogan was Norwegian: Fra der du bor. Til dit du skal.

Kathrine Astrup Fredriksen is a Norwegian businesswoman. She is serving as a board member of one of Norway's biggest listed real estate companies, Norwegian Property, and has previously been on the boards of Seadrill, Golar LNG, Frontline and Deep Sea Supply. Fredriksen oversees the Fredriksen family’s investments and is involved in high level decisions as well as administration of the organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arendal crash</span>

The Arendal crash (Arendalskrakket) was an economic crisis in Arendal, Norway, that occurred when the bank Arendals Privatbank went bankrupt in 1886 and the bank's co-owner Axel Nicolai Herlofson was revealed to have defrauded customers and co-owners systemically. The crash led to several other bankruptcies and unemployment in Southern Norway, and marked the end of Arendal as an important shipping town. It took over 80 years to overcome the effects of the crash. Herlofson was sentenced to six years penal labour. Only two years after its start in 1874, the bank was in reality bankrupt, but the bank was continued for nine years due to corruption and poor routines or a lack of routines. The debt to Herlofson, his brother Oskar and Strømsbu sag was finally NOK 12 million, corresponding to the entire wealth of Kristiansand's population, or six billion 2012 kroner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rasmus Hansson</span> Norwegian politician (born 1954)

Rasmus Johan Michael Hansson is a Norwegian biologist, civil servant, environmental activist and a former national spokesperson for the Green Party. He led the Norwegian chapter of World Wide Fund for Nature from 2000 to 2012. In 2013, he was elected to the Parliament of Norway as the first representative for the Green Party.

Air Stord A/S was an airline which operated between 1990 and 1999. Based at Stord Airport, Sørstokken, it operated a fleet of Beechcraft Super King Air and later Dornier 328 aircraft.

Hans Rasmus Astrup was a Norwegian billionaire heir, ship broker, and art collector. He was founder of the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo.

Marius Reikerås is a Norwegian former lawyer.

References

  1. Bjørn Haugan, Johann D. Sundberg, Lars Magne Sunnanå: Flytter for døtrene (E24. 11 May 2006)
  2. Bowers, Simon (18 March 2013). "The super-rich who have made Cyprus their home" via www.theguardian.com.
  3. "The Richest Person In Cyprus Is Actually Norwegian".
  4. De Lange, Grete. Norway's richest man no longer Archived 8 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine (Aftenposten. 11 May 2006)
  5. "John Fredriksen". Forbes.
  6. "Kapital 400" . Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  7. "10. John Fredriksen, Seatankers". 12 December 2014.
  8. "John Fredriksen". Forbes. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  9. Helman, Christopher. "How Shipping King John Fredriksen Found A Port In The Storm". Forbes.
  10. Nina Berglund Smedvig now fully under Fredriksen's control Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Aftenposten; 3 April 2006
  11. "The Sunday Times Rich List 2023". www.thetimes.co.uk. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  12. "Sunday Times Rich List shows UK's wealthiest defy recession". BBC News Online . 28 April 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  13. Robinson, Edward; Bockmann, Michelle Wiese (22 September 2012). "Shipping magnate John Fredriksen sticks to his 'gut feeling': Invest" . Retrieved 14 March 2018 via www.washingtonpost.com.
  14. "John Fredriksen – Bornrich". 29 May 2012.
  15. "Messenger boy who became a shipping billionaire". 9 May 2014.
  16. «For Oslo-advokatene ble Gisvolds reise slutten på den hemmelige etterforskningen. Man hadde nok, og dessuten var det nå bare et tidsspørsmål før Fredriksen fikk kjennskap til granskningen. Følgelig torde man ikke holde på lenger. Juristene anbefalte Gard å gå til politiet med sine mistanker.», fra Storeulv, side 106
  17. «Samme morgen ble de seks arresterte fremstilt for Oslo forhørsrett. Siktelsen var grove oljetyverier og forsikringssvindel for cirka en million kroner.», fra Storeulv, side 125
  18. «John Fredriksen måtte i 1990 godta en bot på to millioner kroner for å ha satt mannskapenes liv i fare ved å bruke olje fra lasten som drivstoff.», fra Storeulv, side 168
  19. «Fredriksen aksepterte å betale Gard 800,000-dollar, pluss halvparten av den Marine Management-konto de hadde tatt beslag i.», fra Storeulv, side 160

Literature