Ivar Tollefsen (born 23 June 1961) is a Norwegian businessman, the founder of Tollefsen Enterprises and Fredensborg AS.

Early life

Ivar Tollefsen grew up in

Asker Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greate ...

. At the age of 12, he started delivering papers on four different routes; to do that, he had to wake up at 3:30 am. A few years later, on the money he earned, Tollefsen acquired a DJ set and started performing at neighbourhood school parties. Soon he founded the Tollefsen Enterprises and skipped high school to dedicate himself fully to the business of renting out DJ-services and event equipment.

Career

In 1985, Tollefsen Enterprises was bought by investment firm Vest Invest for around $2.8 million. In 1994, Tollefsen engaged in real-estate business and bought a 20-apartments building in central

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. Later he founded Fredensborg AS, which is one of the largest owners of rental housing, owning more than apartments across Scandinavia. Since 2020, the company actively has actively invested in foreign property. Only in 2020, , controlled by Fredensborg AS, acquired 1732 buildings across Germany. Ivar Tollefsen is known for his adventurous spirit. In 1991, he set the world speed record for the crossing of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

on skis. In 1993, he led some of the first expeditions to climb mountains in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. In 2009, he finished fourth in the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, ...

. Ivar Tollefsen made the 2022

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

Billionaires List with an estimated wealth of $6.4 billion and occupied the 398th position.

References

1961 births Living people Norwegian businesspeople Norwegian billionaires 20th-century Norwegian businesspeople 21st-century Norwegian businesspeople {{Norway-business-bio-stub