Meyer was born in
Bergen, Norway to merchant Gerdt Henrich Meyer (1817-1897) and Kaia Wilhelmine Wold (1831-1864). He graduated from
Tanks Upper Secondary School in Bergen in 1874. He studied modern mill operations in Germany and trained at his father's mill, Vaksdal mølle in
Hordaland. Together with his father, he built a mill at Vaksdal in 1890. After the death of his father in 1897, Meyer took over the management of Vaksdal mølle. After a fire, he had a new mill built in 1899 which was designed by architect Adolph Fischer (1844-1925). By the early 1900s, he was running the largest milling operation in Norway. In 1912 the firm was transformed into a corporation with Meyer as principal shareholder. ==Personal life==