| Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 March 1967 Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Nationality | Icelandic |
| Occupation | Investor and Entrepreneur |
| Net worth | $1 Billion (2009) |
| Website | |
| http://www.novator.co.uk | |
Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson (born 19 March 1967 in Reykjavík, Iceland), known internationally as Thor Bjorgolfsson, is an Icelandic businessman and entrepreneur, and former chairman of the financial firm Straumur-Burðarás and chairman of investment firm Novator Partners.
He has been declared "Iceland's first billionaire", and was ranked as the 249th-richest person in the world by Forbes magazine in 2007—up from 350th the previous year—with a net worth of $3.5 billion. The Sunday Times’ Sunday Times Rich List (2007) lists his net worth at £2,000 million. However, following the financial crisis of 2007–2010, Björgólfur's net worth declined to $1 billion (as of March 2009).
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He is heir to a long lasting family legacy in Icelandic business and politics; his great-grandfather was the legendary Danish-born Icelandic entrepreneur Thor Jensen, who all but introduced the term "big business" to the country in the early years of the 20th century. Thor Jensen was a popular figure in Iceland and when Thor was buried, most companies in Iceland closed in respect of the entrepreneur.[1]
His mother is Þóra Hallgrímsdóttir, ex-wife of George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party.
Björgólfur chose to go to the United States in 1986 when his father Björgólfur Guðmundsson's bankrupt firm, Hafskip, was embroiled in a financial scandal involving fraud and embezzlement.
In 1991, he graduated with a B.S. from New York University.
He went to Russia along with his father and his friend Magnús Þorsteinsson.
A report published in Denmark noted that the Committee on External Economic Relations in Saint Petersburg Mayor's office was responsible for foreigners. The committee's chairman was Vladimir Putin between 1991 and 1996.[2]
The Icelandic businessmen, together with Russian partners, founded bottling company Baltic Bottling Plant, which was sold to Pepsi. Next they founded a brewing company. ООО "Торговый дом "РОСА" was registered in March 1995 and changed its name to Bravo OOO in February 1996 (address was also changed). It further changed its name to Bravo International OOO in August 1996 and Bravo International JSC in December 1997.[2] Founders of Bravo were six companies registered in Limassol, Cyprus - Björgólfsson was president of all of them.[2] Bravo Brewery became a success on the premium beer Botchkarov.
An article in The Guardian (2005) wondered where Björgólfsson's money comes from and noted that in the 1990s the Icelanders "were not only ploughing money into the country but doing it in the city regarded as the Russian mafia capital. That investment was being made in the drinks sector, seen by the mafia as the industry of choice."[3] Competitors in the Saint Petersburg brewing market faced problems. For instance, Ilya Weismann, deputy director of competing beverage company Baltic, was assassinated on January 10, 2000. Later Baltic director general Aslanbek Chochiev was also assassinated. One competing Saint Petersburg brewery burned to the ground.[2][3]
The company became the fastest growing brewery in Russia. Heineken bought the brewery for $400m in 2002.[2][4]
He returned to Iceland to gain interest in numerous ventures there.
In 2000, Saint Petersburg opened an honorary consulate in Iceland. Thor Bjorgolfsson was appointed Consul and Magnus Thorsteinsson was appointed Honorary Vice-Consul.[2] The opening ceremony was held on March 10, 2000.[2]
Novator Partners, which is managed by Björgólfsson, has bought assets around Eastern Europe. The company's owners are unknown.
In 2002, his holding company gained 45% share of Landsbanki, Iceland's second largest bank, in a controversial privatization.[5][6] Landsbanki was declared to be acting contrary to the interests of the United Kingdom and placed on a watchlist usually used for the blocking of funds to terrorist organizations by the British government after bankruptcy in October 2008.
He was the main owner as well as the chairman of the Straumur Investment Bank.
Two of Björgólfur's companies, Landsbanki and Straumur, left the Icelandic people with several billions of dollars in debt, when they went bankrupt following the Icelandic Financial crisis.
He has been heavily criticized for his actions leading to the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis.[7]