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Hi. I am a shipping company director, transport academic, author, family man and all round nice guy. I have worked as shipbroker, shipowner, freight trader and bulk charterer, in senior positions, with some of the largest and most disrespected (joke) companies in the world. Ask my advice on all things shipping and you will receive my blunt and always honest answer. Hang around to learn more about chartering and ship broker salaries, chartering and ship broker jobs, chartering and shipbroker recruitment agencies, cheap freight, maritime education, chartering and ship broker qualifications, become a ship broker, tips on how to be a successful bulk shipping executive, philosophy, Zen and the art of shipbroking, and much more. Yours The Virtual Shipbroker Andy Jamison is the alter ego (pen name) of ex shipping guy and blog creator Nick van der Hoeven Copyright © 2020 by Virtualshipbroker Contact virtualshipbroker@yahoo.com

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

John Fredrikson - A shipping billionaire

From a reader

Quote

Hey VS,

I love your blog! Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough, but no other website out there provides the value that yours does. I instinctively get the feeling there isn't a better site in terms of shipping than yours, because I love this industry and have scoured the web for hours looking for shipping websites.

I have a quick question for you, as you are someone I respect and you also have tons of insight into this industry. What separates the average joe from someone like Mr. Fredriksen? His family was working class, but he still managed to build an empire for himself.

He "started trading oil in the 1960s in Beirut, bought his first tankers in the 1970s, ran crude oil for Iran in the 1980s." How do you go from simply trading to buying tankers worth millions upon millions of dollars? Why Beirut? Did he go for the connections?

I'd be very appreciative of any insight you could give here!

Best regards,

James

Unqte


Good question! I will write an answer in the next day or two. If any readers want to have a go at the answer shoot!

Posted by at

2 comments:

  1. MSSeptember 17, 2014 at 3:03 PM

    Hi!
    I know that Lebanon had a pretty stable period in the 60's. It was the so called "Paris of the Middle East". Maybe it was good developments in the oil and tanker market at that time?

    As for the Iran case, and I am referring to "Inside Shipbroking" now, Iran and Iraq was in a terrible war, and due to the high risks taken, the earnings was thus pretty high aswell.

    To VS: Just read Inside Shipbroking, and it was awesome and informative! I will mail you concerning one of the chapters! :-)

    -MS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Virtual ShipbrokerSeptember 17, 2014 at 8:25 PM

      Thanks you for the plug. In one message you referenced my book, promoted my book and offered an answer to a blog question.

      You are welcome here anytime!

      VS

      Delete

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