Arne Næss Jr. (; born Arne Rudolf Ludvig Raab; 8 December 1937 – 13 January 2004) was a Norwegian businessman and the second husband of actress and singer

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

Early life

Næss was born in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 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 cent ...

. Næss' family lived in Germany during World War II. 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. Næss was Deputy Head of Nortraship's New York office from 1942 to 1946. Næss was the initiator behind the OBO carrier. He is also credited as ...

, 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 was a company focused on data storage products, especially streamers, headquartered in Dortmund, Germany. They were the only company still selling drives that use the QIC (also known as SLR) and VXA formats, but also produc ...

, 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.

Mountaineering

By age 19, Næss had already made twenty

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

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 (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

. 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."

Personal life

In 1966, Næss married Filippa Kumlin d'Orey of Sweden and together they had a son, Christoffer, and two daughters, Katinka and singer-songwriter 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 i ...

. In 1985, Næss met American singer

on a trip to the Bahamas. 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. Kendrick is the daughter of singer and actress Diana Ross and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. She was raised by her mother and Robert ...

(Ross' daughter with Motown Records founder

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

), 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) receivin ...

; the latter two being Ross' daughters from her first marriage to music executive

Robert Ellis Silberstein Robert Ellis Silberstein (also known as Bob Ellis; born January 5, 1946) is an American music executive and businessman. During his career, he managed many musicians, including his ex-wife Diana Ross, Billy Preston, Rufus, the Rolling Stones' Ro ...

. The couple divorced in 2000. Næss spent his remaining four years with Norwegian-born Camilla Astrup; they had two sons, Nicklas and Louis.

Death

Næss was staying with his friend

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

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'', French: ''Le Coin Français'') is a small town in the Western Cape Province and one of the oldest towns in South Africa. It was formerly known as Oliph ...

outside

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, South Africa. 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 Laureus World Sports Awards winners Mountaineering deaths Norwegian mountain climbers Norwegian people of German descent Sport deaths in South Africa