Anker Kjelstrup Olaisen (19) is a salmon heir in the third generation. A generation with which a curse follows, according to the myth. The mother wants to avoid that, and has therefore created a private school for her son. – I’m going to die sometime. So whether he wants to or not, at some point he will become the owner, says Aino Olaisen (48). She is one of Norway’s largest salmon farmers, with a fortune of NOK 1.6 billion according to Kapital. She is co-owner and chairman of the salmon farming company Nova Sea on the island of Lovund on the Helgeland coast. As an only child and heir, Anker is likely to inherit more money than most people can imagine. But with the legacy comes enormous responsibility. Anker and his mother Aino have a good and close relationship. He is her only child. The third generation is the challenge There are many stories about the fact that values in family companies can quickly be lost through generational changes. In fact, so many that it is referred to worldwide as a well-known myth about inheritance. The first generation builds up, the second generation manages and the third generation uses up. Or as the British say: “Clogs to clogs in three generations” – from clogs to clogs in three generations. As can happen when you get a little too easily to money and wealth. Aino Olaisen is familiar with that myth, she too. – In Northern Norwegian, it is simply called “It goes to hell with the third generation”. We must avoid that. Sudden and unexpected responsibility Aino Olaisen belongs to the second generation. She suddenly had to take over when Anker’s maternal grandfather, the salmon pioneer Steinar Olaisen, died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 2011. 25 years ago, the farming company Mowi became part owner of Nova Sea, but the Olaisen family has retained control of Nova Sea through their majority ownership throughout the years. Aino had a lot of knowledge about salmon farming when she and her siblings got their salmon heritage in their laps. She had gone to the fisheries college and been out on the merdekan since she was a child. But she had never imagined that she would take over the leadership so early. 400 employees This summer she was able to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the salmon adventure out at Lovund, where the population has doubled in the meantime and good prices in the market have produced record profits. It obligates, says Aino Olaisen. – Through being the main owners, we have such a great responsibility and it is extremely important that the next generation can also have good owners. Unge Anker has the same attitude. He almost grew up in the rocks on the island of Lovund, the same place where grandfather Steinar Olaisen once started it all by releasing salmon in wooden cages. – I agree with my mother that it is important to take care of the local community. Grandfather thought the same. Today, Nova Sea has 400 employees, and is known for sharing the profits with everyone in the company. More or less, the population on the island is 520. Anker (19), Edda (20) and Håvard (24) are all students in the billionaire class at the family’s own school. Photo: Marthe Mølstre Own ownership school To rule out the third-generation curse, Anker and his two cousins Edda (20) and Håvard (24), who will also inherit, have been put in the family’s own ownership school. Since 2019, they have had two or three gatherings a year where they have learned about everything from general finance to management philosophy and communication. They have also been on a trip abroad to meet Nova Sea’s biggest customers and get their assessment of the product and the future. Aino and her sister have received help from a professional consultancy firm to create the content for the school. The plan also includes learning about one’s own person. – We have taken personality tests to find weak and strong points, and what you should pay attention to with yourself, explains Aino. Even with your own private school, there can be things that are difficult to talk about. For example, what kind of roles the three cousins will have in the future ownership of Nova Sea. – It was one of the aims of creating this school that we should have an arena where you can talk about the difficult things. Kill the elephant in the room before it becomes a proper elephant, says Aino. Not everything is clear at all about what the future will be like, but it has become easier to talk directly about it. – We grew up almost as siblings, but after this school we opened up and got a much closer bond between the three of us, says Anker. Anker is currently a recruit in the Norwegian Navy at Madla outside Stavanger. Photo: Anders Leines / news The eyes of others The young heir is now in the king’s clothes at Madla outside Stavanger, as a recruit in the Navy. – It is physically demanding, but very fun. I am happy here and initially the plan is to become a welfare soldier, says Anker, and says he is also looking at the possibilities of later taking management training under the auspices of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The youngster from the Helgeland coast is not afraid to take responsibility and he has also taken on the task of being a shop steward among the other recruits. – They read that Aino Olaisen is in “Helene checks out the salmon billionaire” and then they realized who I am. Fortunately, I think they see me as a pretty down-to-earth type anyway. Anker with her mother Aino at The Salmon, a restaurant and viewing center in Oslo. This summer, Anker worked here as a guide. Photo: Anders Leines / news Working on the floor This summer, Anker was a guide at The Salmon in Oslo, a restaurant and viewing center that his mother co-owns. – The farming industry is much more transparent than many think it is. People come in and get answers to questions about myths and negative things that are said about the industry. Anker believes that very few people who visited the viewing center knew who he is. – I don’t usually say that, because then I get a slightly different look at myself. It’s like the first time at high school in Bodø. It was nice to make good friends there before they knew about the money. – They didn’t know about the inheritance until I visited them a month after I got to know them. Afraid of fake friends The friends took the lift directly up to one of Bodø’s finest apartments, and only then did they realize that the new friend was not a poor boy from the islands at all. On the contrary, sometime in the future he is going to inherit in an order of magnitude that is far-fetched for most people. – You can quickly become skeptical of people because you are afraid of who are you to me? Are you like that to me because I have money or do you mean it with all your heart? But when visitors to The Salmon show a particular interest in the farming industry, he still tends to reveal his background. – Then the conversation will perhaps be more interesting for them too. During the summer, I have gained much more self-confidence in just that. It also helped a lot that I had such good colleagues at the viewing centre. I felt that I grew up more by having that job. Anker lives in an apartment the family owns in Bjørvika in Oslo. From the balcony he can see a glimpse of the Oslo Fjord. Photo: Anders Leines / news Greater tax burden Recently, the second generation of the Olaisen family has had a lot to think about. The government has come up with proposals for new tax measures for the farming industry. The government wants most of the profit, 62 per cent, to go to tax. Then there will be less for the owners, and the price of salmon shares plummeted after the proposal became known. Many in the industry have put investments on hold while they wait for what the Storting decides. – Until now, Nova Sea has stopped further development of the slaughterhouse and hatchery on the island of Lovund. We are put in a kind of limbo, a state of waiting, says Aino Olaisen, and points out that wealth tax has also increased sharply. – It seems to be considerably more challenging to handle the legacy and responsibility going forward. You can say the legacy seems to be getting a little smaller. The recruits at Madla also follow excitedly what happens in the industry in the future. As a well-educated salmon heir, he has made up his mind. – The rich survive, the problem is if it affects the local population who work in the company, says salmon heir Anker. It started with jumping and bouncing in the spring stones at Lovund. Anker does the movement sport parkour in his spare time. Photo: Anders Leines / news WATCH VIDEO: Helene meets Aino Olaisen, the salmon farmer who has brought salmon and people to breed on the island of Lovund on the Helgeland coast.
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Salmon heir in the billionaire class – Documentary
