Fred Olsen or Fred. Olsen is the name of a large shipping company based in Norway,
The company was founded by Petter Olsen in 1848.
Petter's son Thomas Fredrik Olsen "Fred. Olsen" (1857-1933) took the company from a small business with a few boats into a powerful multinational shipping and ship building business.
After the first Fred Olsen's death, his son Rudolf Olsen took over the company. Scandinavian Airlines System was added to the businesses controlled by the company.
Rudolf's son, also named Fred Olsen (born January 1, 1929) is now in control of the company, which now is also in the oil business and owns the Timex watch brand.
The current Fred Olsen has been called "The Norwegian Howard Hughes" for his great wealth and avoidance of publicity. Some think Fred Olsen looks like The Simpsons cartoon character Montgomery Burns.
External links
