Deal Before Respect

“The Gresvig coup also had other typical Røkke traits. It was here he first discovered how useful it is to sit on all sides of the table. The first thing Røkke and Gjelsten did was to pump goods from their own companies through Gresvig. The G-Sport stores were filled with clothing items from Frank Shorter and Tomra – "on business terms," as it was stated. At the same time, they bought Gresvig's buildings and leased them back to Gresvig. Through many cunning maneuvers, the rest of the Røkke system extracted 40–50 million kroner a year. On top of that, Røkke and Gjelsten's company, Sport Invest Inc., demanded "consultancy fees" to assist the Gresvig management. No less than 13 million kroner were taken out in one year. To top it all off, the new owners were not modest enough to refrain from draining Gresvig of 36 million kroner in group contributions.”

“The old-timers were completely wrong about Kjell Inge Røkke. He quickly made his mark as someone who knew where he wanted to go, and he quickly became known for his big mouth in the Norwegian community in Ballard, a neighborhood just over the ship canal north of downtown Seattle. They laughed at Røkke's optimism, but the laughter was good-natured. The expatriate Norwegians had seen fortunes made – and blown – in the fisheries before. They had been with big shots up and down, and now here was a newcomer who wanted to live high from day one.”