Olav Thon

Thon was born on 29 June 1923 in Ål, Hallingdal, Norway. Thon started his business career as a boy at home on the family farm in Ål, where he farmed fur animals and bought and sold skins from foxes, squirrels and rabbits. At the age of 8, Thon started ordering a supply of Christmas cards from a mail-order catalog and selling them to his neighbors. At the age of 16, Thon moved to Oslo, and in 1941, he established his own fur shop. Originally he had wanted to study medicine but the outbreak of World War II made it harder for him to travel abroad. Instead, he began to focus on the fur business. After the war, he studied English in London. == Business career ==

Thon bought his first building in 1951 and opened his first restaurant in 1966. Besides his hotel and real estate investments, in 1992, Thon acquired Unger Fabrikker AS. Unger Fabrikker AS is a Fredrikstad based chemical manufacturer with a focus of anionic surfactants. In 2007, Thon was listed with a fortune of NOK 20.8 billion, which made him Norway's 2nd richest person. Thon's authorized biography, Olav Thon: Billionaire in a Parka, was written by Hallgrim Berg, a Norwegian politician and a folk musician; a translated version was published in English in October 2009. Trust In an article in the Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv on 10 September 2008, Thon's solicitor, John Christian Elden, announced that Thon intended to give away his entire fortune through the establishment of an independent foundation that focuses on the medical sciences. Therefore, later, in February 2014, his personal assets were estimated around US$1 billion. Thon had no heirs at the time of his death. == Personal life ==

Thon lived just outside Oslo, in Sollihøgda, Hole municipality. Thon was a Christian and was married; he did not have any children. He enjoyed various outdoor activities and was an honorary member of the Norwegian Trekking Association. Thon was married to Inger-Johanne Thon (1919–2018) until her death. Although he lived with his partner, Sissel Berdal Haga (born 1940), for over 30 years, he did not divorce his wife, as she was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Thon eventually married Berdal Haga on 21 June 2019. On 29 June 2023, Thon turned 100. Thon died on 16 November 2024, at the age of 101. After his death, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called Thon a "unique businessman" who "never forgot his roots to the local Norwegian community". ==Notes==