John Fredriksen (born 10 May 1944) is a Norwegian-born oil tanker and shipping magnate, who owns the world’s largest oil tanker fleet. He also has major interests in the offshore driller Seadrill, the fish farming company Marine Harvest, the dry bulk company Golden Ocean Group, and the supply vessel company Deep Sea Supply. Through his investment companies Hemen Holdings and Meisha, Fredriksen controls the companies Frontline and Golar LNG. In 2010–2011, Frontline owned 9.6 percent of another large tanker company, Overseas Shipholding Group. North Atlantic Drilling, Sevan Drilling, and Asia Offshore Drilling are partly owned by Seadrill.
Born in Oslo, Norway, Fredriksen is a Cypriot citizen who resides in London. Before abandoning his Norwegian citizenship, he was Norway’s richest man. Norwegian magazine Kapital listed Fredriksen in 2013 with a net worth of NOK 69,75 billion ($11.9 billion USD). 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.
Biography
Family
Fredriksen was born on 10 May 1944 to a welder and his wife, and grew up in Etterstad in the eastern half of Oslo.
Fredriksen is a widower and has two daughters: Cecilie (born 1983) and Kathrine Astrup Fredriksen (born 1983). Fredriksen’s former 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.
Business
Fredriksen made his fortune during the Iran-Iraq wars 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.
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.
The world’s richest Cypriot, John Fredriksen is a well known shipping and oil tanker tycoon whose net worth is estimated to be around $10.9 billion as of January 2018. He is the owner of the largest tanker fleet in the world. He used to be the wealthiest businessman in Norway but he chose to secure a passport in Cyprus. Through Meisha and Hemen Holdings, John Fredriksen is able to control Golar LNG and Frontline. He is known to have interests in other companies like Deep Sea Supply, SeaDrill, Marine Harvest and Golden Ocean Group. Through Frontline, Fredriksen used to own 9.6% of Overseas Shipholding Group but he chose to divest his interest in 2011.
By the end of 2012, John Fredriksen was named by Bloomberg magazine as one of 500 Most Influential People in the World. In 2012, Fredriksen and his family’s net worth costs £6.6 billion, which made them the 9th wealthiest people in the UK.
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