One of the richest Norwegians, Olaf Thon, died at the age of 101. The Scandinavian businessman founded a company that manages hundreds of hotels, shopping centers and real estate properties in Europe. The incident was reported by Gazeta.
“It is with great sadness that we received the news today of the death of Olaf Thon. He lived to be 101 years old.” – confirmed Kjetil NielsenCEO of Olav Thon Gruppen.
“We deeply miss Olaf Thon. He is remembered with great gratitude and joy for all he did for his employees, clients and close friends. “My warmest thoughts are with his beloved wife Sissel and his immediate family.” – he added in his farewell message.
The group of companies was the life work of Olav Ton, one of the richest Norwegians. In 2013, Forbes estimated his fortune at $6 billion, but since the billionaire founded a foundation in his name, to which he donated his savings, he was excluded from the Forbes list.
“He built an image of himself as a guy who gives away all his money and goes to the mountains to be healthy.” – this is what he wrote about him David Ellingsenauthor of a book about a deceased billionaire.
Olaf Thon was born on June 29, 1923 on a farm in Hallingdal, Norway. He started his business by opening a fur shop in the Majorstuen district of Oslo, where he sold fox, squirrel and rabbit fur. The businessman did this when he was only eighteen years old. The businessman entered the real estate market in 1950. He bought restaurants and hotels, founded the Rainbow Hotels chain in 1989, which was later renamed Thon Hotels, and expanded the business to shopping centers in the 1990s.
