Golden Alaska

"At the dock, they look like small tugboats, while "Golden Alaska" in comparison resembles the Coastal Express. And it is aboard this larger ship that the 27-year-old Norwegian Kjell Inge Røkke reigns. He is the boss of the entire fishing operation, although all the boats have their own captains. It is Røkke who is the owner, it is his money that goes down the drain when production stops if the catcher boats do not deliver fish. So the signals from Røkke were clear: "Aleutian Harvester" and the other catcher boats had to go to sea. There was no plea. Røkke ran the fishing with a firm hand. Every pollock fish meant dollars in the register, and as a co-owner, Røkke was pleased that the money kept coming in despite the poor weather. Therefore, they defied the poor weather forecasts – a decision that was fine for everyone on board the large "Golden Alaska", but considerably tougher for the people on the small catcher boats."

"Nevertheless, it was in the fisheries that Røkke's real fortune was located. Even after the sale of "Golden Alaska", he remained with significant interests. Røkke was a co-owner of the three small boats "Aleutian Challanger", "Ocean Leader", and "American Beauty", and had assets worth at least 10 million kroner here. Additionally, he owned shares in the company Alaska Net Company worth 5.0 million kroner. Incidentally, this was where Røkke was formally employed. And for the job as "fishery manager", Røkke could already note a yearly salary of 130,000 dollars in 1987. That amounted to 910,000 kroner – a salary that at the time would have made him one of Norway's best-paid top executives."