‘Cypriot’ Fredriksen is 88th richest in world

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Despite his wealth diminishing by some 300 mln dollars, John Fredriksen rose up the Forbes list of billionaires from 113th in 2008 to 88th position this year, with a personal fortune of $7.7 bln (€5.6 bln).
The world's leading oil tanker tycoon was ranked 9th in The Sunday Times Rich List 2009 with a worth of £2.5 bln (€2.7 bln), down from 8th and £4.65 bln in 2008.
He runs his empire from a 30,000 square foot manse in London's Chelsea district but is a naturalised Cypriot, having abandoned his Norwegian nationality over inheritance tax issues several years ago. This placed him at the top of the Greek Rich List as the ‘Cypriot billionaire’.
The 65 year old self-made billionaire is said to have benefited with the shipping industry recovering from the crush of recession, according to Forbes.
Fredriksen last year rescued bulk shipper Golden Ocean from bankruptcy with capital infusion. He slashed dividends at oil tanker giant Frontline and is still agitating for management change at container shipper Tui. The oil trading business is making strong profits and the biggest piece of his fortune is Seadrill, which builds and leases specialised ships for deepwater oil drilling, whose shares were up 150% in a year. Fredriksen also controls Marine Harvest, the world's largest seafood company and biggest salmon farmer and is working to improve operations, as well as combat criticism that farms harm wild fish populations. He is widowed and has two daughters.