"It is with great sorrow that we have received the news that Olav Thon has passed away. He became 101 years old", it says in a press release from Thon Group.
Olav Thon was born in Hallingdal, midway between Bergen and Oslo, in 1923. He founded Thon Group, which owns over 90 hotels and 80 shopping centers – several of them in Sweden. He was himself CEO and chairman of the board until 2022 when he resigned, 98 years old, writes NTB.
Another Norwegian billionaire and hotel magnate – Petter Stordalen – praises Thon as "the best competitor I could ever ask for".
Olav Thon was a pioneer, a visionary and a legend in Norwegian business. He built an empire and gave back to society with the same great force as he created value. An inspiration to all who dream big, says Stordalen to Norwegian TV2.
In 2010, Thon was, according to the magazine Capital, Norway's richest man, and Bloomberg estimated his fortune to be over 60 billion kronor in 2022. Over 7,000 people in five different countries work in the group.
Thon Group is a group with business focused on real estate and hotels. Of the over 80 shopping centers that Thon Group owns, ten are located in Sweden:
Charlottenbergs Shoppingcenter
Coop Överby and Etage in Trollhättan
Mitt i City in Karlstad
Mirum Galleria in Norrköping
Nordby Shoppingcenter in Strömstad
Sollentuna Centrum
Tanum Shoppingcenter in Tanumshede
Torp Köpcentrum in Uddevalla
Töcksfors Shoppingcentrum
Thon Hotel also owns around 90 hotels in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Source: Thon Group and NTB
