Arne Næss Jr. (; born Arne Rudolf Ludvig Raab; 8 December 1937 – 13 January 2004, aged 66) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

businessman and the second ex-husband of Diana Ross.

Early life

Næss was born in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1937 to German physician August Oskar German Raab (1901–1993) and Kirsten "Kiki" Dekke Næss (1907–2001), a Norwegian national whose uncle was philosopher and mountaineer

Arne Næss Arne Dekke Eide Næss (; 27 January 1912 – 12 January 2009) was a Norwegian philosopher who coined the term "deep ecology", an important intellectual and inspirational figure within the environmental movement of the late twentieth century ...

. Næss' family lived in

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. His parents divorced after the war, and Næss moved to Norway with his mother where they both took her maiden name Næss.

Career

In 1964, Næss moved to New York to work for his uncle

Erling Dekke Næss Erling Dekke Næss (5 September 1901 – 7 February 1993) was a Norwegian shipowner and businessman. Brother of philosopher Arne Dekke Næss, his nephew was the mountaineer and businessman Arne Næss Jr. Best known for his early adoption of fla ...

, a shipping magnate and businessman. He started his own business in London in 1968 where he was successful in shipping and oil, and in real estate. He would go on to make a few bad investments in the 1990s in Pyramid scheme Global Money Games. His biggest success was an investment in an IT business,

Tandberg Data Tandberg Data GmbH is a company focused on data storage products, especially streamers, headquartered in Dortmund, Germany. They are the only company still selling drives that use the QIC (also known as SLR) and VXA formats, but also produce ...

, and various global real estate investments. At the time of his death in 2004, Næss' shipping empire was reputedly worth some 600 million. He spent his final years in Switzerland.

Personal life

In 1966, Næss married Filippa Kumlin d'Orey of Sweden and together they had a son, Christoffer, and two daughters, Katinka and folk pop crossover singer Leona Næss. After they divorced, he was in a relationship with Norwegian actress

Mari Maurstad Mari Maurstad (born 17 March 1957) is a Norwegian actress. She debuted at Nationaltheatret (the National Theatre) in 1981, and has worked there since. Here she has had roles such as Polly in Brecht's ''The Threepenny Opera'', and Mrs. Sørby in ...

. In 1985, Næss met

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer Diana Ross on a trip to the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

. He and Ross married in 1986 and had two sons, Ross Arne Næss (born October 7, 1987) and Evan Olav Næss (born August 26, 1988). Through his marriage, he gained three stepdaughters,

Rhonda Ross Kendrick Rhonda Ross Kendrick (born Rhonda Suzanne Silberstein; August 14, 1971) is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer and actress Diana Ross. She was born in Los Angeles and raised by Ross and her first husband, Robert Ellis S ...

(Ross' daughter with Motown Records founder

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

), Chudney Ross, and

Tracee Ellis Ross Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series '' Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and '' Black-ish'' (2014–2022). She is ...

; the latter two being Ross' daughters from her first marriage to music executive Robert Ellis Silberstein. The couple divorced in 2000, after it was revealed that Næss fathered a child with Camilla Astrup. Næss spent his remaining five years with Norwegian-born Camilla Astrup; they had two sons, Nicklas and Louis.

Mountaineering

By age 19, Næss had already made twenty

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

s of Norwegian mountains. In the 1960s, he focused primarily on his career. In the 1970s, he returned to mountain climbing. In 1985, he led the first Norwegian expedition to

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

. Also participating was British mountaineer

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...

. When asked, during a late-1990s television interview, about the risks of mountaineering, Næss replied, "If I hadn't liked risks, I would rather have played tennis or golf."

Death

Næss was staying with his friend

Johann Rupert Johann Peter Rupert (born 1 June 1950) is a South African billionaire businessman, who is the eldest son of business tycoon Anton Rupert and his wife Huberte. He is the chairman of the Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont and the South Af ...

on 13 January 2004 when he died in a climbing accident while descending from a peak on Rupert's estate in the Groot Drakenstein mountains near the town of

Franschhoek Franschhoek (; Afrikaans for "French Corner", Dutch spelling before 1947 ''Fransche Hoek'') is a small town in the Western Cape Province and one of the oldest towns in South Africa. Formerly known as Oliphants hoek (as there were vast groups of ...

outside

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. According to police reports, Næss' anchoring equipment loosened from the porous mountainside, leading to a 103-metre fall. He was 66 years old. In May 2004, Næss was posthumously awarded the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award.

References

External links

'Arne was no daredevil', claim friends
nbsp; (from Norwegian daily ''Aftenposten'')
BBC news report of Næss' death"Arne Næss Jr remembered" (photos from his memorial service)Details and climbing history of 7 summiteer Arne Næss (www.7summits.com)

The family tree of Arne Næss Jr. on Geni.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naess, Arne Jr. 1937 births 2004 deaths Norwegian mountain climbers Norwegian people of German descent Laureus World Sports Awards winners Mountaineering deaths Sport deaths in South Africa Accidental deaths in South Africa