Thomas Fredrik Olsen or Fred Olsen (born 1 January 1929) is a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 shipping

Shipping

Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...

 magnate

Magnate

Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...

 and Chairman of the companies in the Fred. Olsen Group

Fred. Olsen & Co.

Fred. Olsen & Co. is a large shipping company based in Oslo, Norway. The company was founded by Petter Olsen in 1848. Today it is the holding company that controls the Olsen family's interest through Bonheur and Ganger Rolf.-History:...

. He is the fourth generation running the Fred. Olsen Group, founded by his great grandfather Petter Olsen and named after his grandfather Thomas Fredrik Olsen

Thomas Fredrik Olsen (born 1857)

Thomas Fredrik Olsen was a Norwegian businessman and ship owner of Fred. Olsen & Co.Thomas Fredrik Olsen Thomas Fredrik Olsen(15 October 1857- 29 January 1933) was a Norwegian businessman and ship owner of Fred. Olsen & Co.Thomas Fredrik Olsen Thomas Fredrik Olsen(15 October 1857- 29 January 1933)...

. Though he remains the chairman of the companies, ownership

Ownership

Ownership is the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over property, which may be an object, land/real estate or intellectual property. Ownership involves multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different parties. The concept of ownership has...

 and CEO

Chief executive officer

A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

 functions are retained by his daughter

Daughter

A daughter is a female offspring; a girl, woman, or female animal in relation to her parents. The male equivalent is a son. Analogously the name is used on several areas to show relations between groups or elements.-Etymology:...

 Anette S. Olsen

Anette S. Olsen

Anette Sofie Olsen is a Norwegian businessperson.She holds the siv.øk. and the Master of Business Administration degrees. She is the sole proprietor of the shipping conglomerate Fred. Olsen & Co. and through this the controlling owner and chief executive officer of the public listed companies...

. In addition to his jobs within the Fred. Olsen group he was for a period also chairman of the Aker Group

Aker ASA

Aker ASA is a Norwegian holding company engaged in offshore fishing, construction and engineering. The company is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange and is controlled by Kjell Inge Røkke with 66.66% ownership through TRG Holding...

.

Fred. Olsen has been called "The Norwegian Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...

" for his great wealth and avoidance of publicity; although a recluse he is also reputed to be the inspiration for the look of The Simpsons

The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

 cartoon character Mr. Burns.

It was announced on 3 January 2006, that Fred Olsen was to sell almost his entire collection of Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionist art. His best-known composition, The Scream, is part of a series The Frieze of Life, in which Munch explored the themes of love, fear, death, melancholia, and anxiety.- Childhood :Edvard Munch...

 paintings, through Sotheby's on 7 February, estimated to be worth around NOK 100 million. Fred. Olsen has previously been involved in a legal process against his brother, Petter Olsen

Petter Olsen

Petter Olsen is a Norwegian businessman and member of the Olsen shipping family owning the company Fred. Olsen & Co.. He is the younger brother of the current leader of the company, Fredrik Olsen...

, concerning the important Munch collection brought together by their father Thomas Olsen; according to the will of their mother Henriette Olsen, they were to be left to the younger son. Fred Olsen disputed the will but lost the case in the Oslo District Court

Oslo District Court

Oslo District Court is the district court serving Oslo, Norway. Cases may be appealed to Borgarting Court of Appeal. As the largest district court in Norway, it handles about 20% of all cases in the country...

in 2001.