Kjell Inge Røkke: Net gains

At the end of the 1970s a young Norwegian stood at the pier in Molde and dreamt of becoming rich. Except that for Kjell Inge Røkke, for that was his name, life had dealt him a poor hand. Dyslexic, he had quit school at 14, seeing little prospects in his modest hometown – Norway in the 1970s had yet to become the oil-rich nation we know today – or following in the footeps of his furniture-maker father. So, like so many young uneducated men in Scandinavia at that time, he looked to fishing to make money.

Working on a trawler – provided you have negotiated a decent share of the catch – makes a young man among the highest earners in fishing towns, yet the 18-year-old had his sights set on a much higher financial plateau.

Go west, young man
By 1980 he had relocated to Seattle and was spending months at a time at sea. Yet, while his fellow young trawlermen were blowing their pay on expensive cars and holidays, Røkke put everything he could into a savings account and in 1982, at the tender age of 23, had the $75,000 deposit he needed to purchase a 69-foot trawler of his own.

The man from the fjords has business sense to go with his ambition and a second trawler soon followed, then a third, and when his fleet was large enough, he founded American Seafoods, which by the late 80s was harvesting pollock in massive quantities off the coast of Alaska.

“Røkke acquired the Norwegian interests of Marathon Oil for $2.7 billion in 2014”

Thanks to American Seafoods, the anonymous boy on that lonely Norwegian pier had realized his dream. Røkke was extremely wealthy, and he was about to go home to Norway to spend splash the cash. In the early 1990s the country was going through a period of economic turmoil and for the local boy made good, there were bargains galore, notably in the real estate and retail sectors. In 1996 he bought a majority stake in Aker, a Norwegian shipbuilding and offshore drilling equipment manufacturer. In 2001 he swooped for the struggling Kværner, a major rival of Aker. His company acquired the Norwegian interests of Marathon Oil for $2.7 billion in 2014.

Fire and ice
After his formative years in the US, it’s not surprising that the 65-year-old entrepreneur has developed a brash, blingy side to his personality that is at odds with a nation where Lutheran values still hold sway. 

Boasts that his private villa was more beautiful than the Norway’s Royal Palace ruffled the feathers of the establishment and his subsequent quest to build the world’s biggest super yacht and his relocation to Switzerland have provided fodder for those who see him as little more than a self-centered tycoon. In 2002, he spent 23 days in prison for attempting to bribe maritime officials to obtain a licence to pilot his 55-foot private yacht, the Celina Bella.

Which is not to say Kjell Inge Røkke doesn’t care about his reputation. Looking back on his career at one point he chided, “I haven’t invested in any infrastructure, I haven’t built a road. Basically, I’m a harvester.”

And so the man who filled his pockets by helping empty the seas of its fish stocks started to make philanthropic gestures, including joining the Giving Pledge in 2017, which involved a commitment to releasing a significant proportion of his fortune upon his death that will go to saving the oceans.  

And that Superyacht? Røkke has agreed to dedicate part of the 600ft-long vessel's time at sea to environmental research in collaboration with WWF Norway. The REV Ocean, as it has been named, can accommodate up to 60 scientists and 30 crew during research expeditions.

The magnate also intends to spend several months per year aboard doing normal billionaire things, however, which explains the need for a helipad, cinema, swimming pool and multiple jacuzzis. Years behind schedule, the $440 million vessel is expected to be completed in 2025.