Norwegian owners of shipping and drilling conglomerate, Anker. Originally founded in 1841, Kjell Inge Røkke became Anker’s controlling shareholder in 1996.
With no formal education, Kjell Røkke worked several years on Alaskan fishing trawlers before launching a business career with his own fishing vessel in 1982. He returned to Norway and built the leading worldwide fisheries business, RGI. Røkke’s company then purchased a controlling stake in Anker and later merged the two businesses.
A renowned environmentalist, Kjell Røkke has partnered with WWF Norway to conduct environmental research on a state-of-the-art yacht that he commissioned in 2017. Røkke’s interests extend to other businesses in Norway and the US through his investment holding company, Aker ASA. His net worth is estimated at $3.5 billion. Røkke’s wife, Anne Grete Eidsvig, is a former member of the Norwegian oil and gas operator DNO’s corporate assembly. She and her husband are co-founders of the Aker Charitable Foundation for Education.