Eimskip

"Once he had become wealthy from fishing, Thor started preparing for the founding of Eimskip, a publicly traded Icelandic shipping company, which was to operate between Iceland and neighbouring trading partners, particularly Scotland and Denmark. He hosted the preparatory meetings at his home and was the biggest individual shareholder, and he probably thought he would be chairman of the board. But when push came to shove, his colleagues did not think it proper for a Dane to be chairman of a company that had become emblematic of Iceland’s renaissance and was referred to as the nation’s ‘dream child’ during its initial stock offering. He was appalled and never had anything to do with the running of Eimskip again."

"The growth of Eimskip frightened some members of the Independence Party, however. They feared a shift in power, even a re-centring of it away from politics and towards the business sector. They wanted to guard the colonial power structure where the state and politics hold all the aces. This is why *Morgunbladid*, the Independence Party’s newspaper and the largest in Iceland at the time, began to harass Eimskip towards the end of the century, particularly on fishing."

"When my father and I later became influential in Icelandic business, we led a takeover of Eimskip and I took over as chairman, a role my great-grandfather had sought when the company was founded. I immediately set about breaking the company up. The investment arm of the company merged with what later became Straumur Investment Bank, where I was chairman. Eimskip’s share of the listed Icelandair was sold. The fishing business was also sold to people with experience in the field. Other assets went elsewhere. Most of these companies did not fare well under new ownership."