Kjell Inge Rokke is a Norwegian billionaire businessman who owns the majority share in Aker USA. CNBC reports that he has plans for his money: to build a “marine research ship,” that will work to scoop up plastic waste in the ocean. The plan is so ambitious that it would require most of his money.
The Research Expedition Vessel , built in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund, will be able to hoover up around 5 tons of plastic a day which will then be recycled.
According to one media report the ship will be the world's largest of its type, able to carry 60 scientists and 40 crew.
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Røkke, who suffers from dyslexia, has no secondary or higher education and according to reports worked several years on Alaskan trawlers from the age of 18.
In the 1980's he ran several U.S. companies in the Seattle area before returning to Norway to build a shipping fleet.
This is a very lofty thing, and spending his fortune on something positive is great. But to be honest, it’s the least he can do. Rokke is now the majority share holder in Aker BP, a shipping and off-shore drilling conglomerate. Last year, Rokke moved further away from some of his fishing roots to move deeper into oil. According to Forbes, Rokke is worth $2.7 billion dollars—my guess is the Republican Party feels he needs a tax break.
Kjell Inge Rokke owns nearly 67% of publicly traded Aker, a shipping and offshore drilling conglomerate. Rokke got his start selling fish off a boat in Seattle before returning to his native Norway where he built a fleet and earned a reputation as a ruthless corporate raider. In 2016 his Aker lessened the exposure to the industry that made Rokke rich by selling its stake in fishing company Havsfisk. Yacht-watchers say Rokke sold his super yacht Aglaia, which features a 3,600 square meter painting by Norwegian artist Magne Furuholmen on each side of the sail, at the end of 2014. He's rumored to have commissioned an even bigger yacht.
So while one can argue that he didn’t create those industries, he’s clearly profited an inordinate amount by being involved with polluting and draining the resources of … the ocean.