Kari

"When the "Arctic Trawler" went over to Seattle, Kjell Inge was on board. Kari stayed back home in Norway. They had agreed that Kjell Inge should go over first and check out the conditions. There wasn't much free time to speak of either, and that suited Røkke and the other Norwegian young men just fine. They didn't earn anything on land, and since all of them were interested in earning money in the form of percentages of the catch, they wanted to be at sea as much as possible. And should they be so unlucky to spend a few weeks on land in Seattle, Røkke knew what to do. He tried to earn some extra dollars then too."

"This rule also applied to the choice of housing. The whole Norwegian colony worked in Ballard, but those with better means chose to move further north, to Edmonds, a small, beautiful town beautifully located on a hillside, overlooking Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Røkke moved there too. They were cramped in their first small apartment, but they did not starve. If it pinched, Kari had several family members in the area at that time to lean on. Especially the uncle was good to have; he owned several apartments in the city of Tacoma south of Seattle, which Røkke could mortgage when needed. This is how the broke trawler base managed to finance his first real estate speculations. He bought the neighboring apartment in the building where he lived, refurbished it in his spare time, and later sold it with a handsome profit."

"Kari gave birth to Kristian on February 9, 1983. In many ways, Kari and Kjell Inge each had their firstborn. Back home in Seattle, there was baby crying, while Kjell Inge was so desperate that he could have cried his bitter tears out at sea. He quickly realized that he had bought a pig in a poke. The vessel might have looked good on the drawing board, but when faced with reality at sea off Alaska, 69 feet was just too small. The boat was simply too small to fish effectively for cod. Røkke worked around the clock, but the effort did not pay off – it was impossible to make money from the boat. But he had only himself to thank. Not only was the boat a hopeless little tub, but the demanding, young shipowner had indeed loaded it with extra equipment at the end of the building period. Now he experienced that the things that were good to have were difficult to pay back."

"The circumstances surrounding the purchase of the trawler, which was called "Karina," illustrate the courage needed to become rich. For in the late summer of 1982, it was not just boat purchase negotiations that occupied the Røkke couple. In between everything else, Kari became pregnant. And as her belly grew, the family was in over their heads. When Kjell Inge and Kari signed the guarantee in mid-November, Kari was six months along and soon there would be another to support. Still, they risked everything they owned. It was do or die for the young couple."

"However, this portrayal of Røkke as a conscientious repayer is a truth with modifications. In reality, getting money from Røkke in the mid-80s was like pulling teeth with pliers. One of the first things he learned from Bob Breskovich was to keep creditors at bay with smooth talk and to otherwise cling to every single cent. "Røkke used his own money, the banks' money, and everyone else's money to get rich himself," is the testimonial from one of his former employees. This characterization tells the story of a man in incredible financial distress during the first difficult years. It was a tough period where he staggered from one due date to another, and bills piled up on Kari's office desk."

"But creditors who wanted to get an overview of Røkke's fortune had no easy job. Even Kari didn't know about everything they owned. She could perhaps list about 10-15 different companies, while her husband said that "we own about thirty". The tax return didn't reveal much since both ships and properties were listed at the price Røkke originally reported. In the meantime, the prices could well have doubled without it being known. And the tax return was anyway a deeply kept secret from the creditors. Probably the only comprehensive overview existed in one place: in Kjell Inge Røkke's head."