As much as the saying ‘money doesn’t buy you happiness’ gets thrown around, how many of us don’t occasionally wonder what life would be like if we had endless supplies of money?
Just imagine being able to jet off on tropical holidays whenever we wanted, surprising our loved ones with presents to show them how much we appreciate them, and just being able to treat ourselves occasionally without the ever looming stress of whether or not we can afford it.
Let’s face it – most of us wouldn’t turn the opportunity down. But what would it actually be like to be a billionaire?
Well, wonder no more because we have been offered a glimpse of the unimaginable. The world’s youngest male billionaire has been showing his thousands of Instagram followers just what it’s like to live his lavish lifestyle.
Gustav Magnar Witzoe, a 25-year-old man from Norway, was named the youngest male billionaire by Forbes earlier this year, and has a net worth of $1.9 billion.
He comes third only to two women, also from Norway and in their early twenties. I tell you what, I’m getting on the next flight out there – they’re clearly doing something right!
Witzoe’s Instagram has 72,000 followers and he doesn’t shy away from the attention. Instead, he posts regular updates of his exotic holidays and fancy excursions.
From drinking champagne on a balcony overlooking the sea in France to riding a jet ski with his dog on board, you can’t blame him for making the most of his billions! I’m not jealous, you are.
So how did he make his money, you’re probably wondering. Well, this is where it gets interesting because it isn’t through investments or social media, things you might expect from a young billionaire. Nope, Forbes list his source of wealth as ‘fish farming’.
Their website states:
Gustav Magnar Witzoe owns nearly half of Salmar ASA, one of the world’s largest salmon producers. His stake was gifted to him in 2013 by his father, Gustav Witzoe, who founded the company in 1991.
Salmar has led the industrialization of fish farming in Norway, refining the product into more sophisticated cuts with higher margins.
Who would’ve thought that salmon could make you a billionaire? And how do I sign up?? On second thoughts, do I really want to be surrounded by the smell of fish day in, day out? How do I jump straight to the top of the business so I don’t have to?
His dad, also named Gustav Witzoe, still owns the company and has spoken out about his decision to hand over shares of the business to his son, who was 19 at the time – saying the family had ‘long discussions’ about it.
He told NRK, translated by Business Insider:
There are pluses and minuses. It can affect you in many ways, good and bad. It could affect relationships with friends.
But it would seem Witzoe Sr doesn’t need to worry about his son in this respect, because he is not putting all of his fish in one basket. Okay, sorry, that was the best pun I could think of at short notice. I’ll do better next time, I promise.
Witzoe junior has also invested in Snapchat competitor Gobi, which claims to be even more social and interactive than its rival. His investment means the founders now own stock worth 100 million Norwegian Krona, which is especially impressive considering they are all students.
It’s times like these I wish I had the kinds of friends who could set up successful businesses so I could invest in them. (You can invest a tenner, can’t you?) Come on guys, get your act together – you’re really letting me down here.
Ah well, at least for the time being I can pretend I’m a successful entrepreneur by living vicariously though Witzoe’s Instagram. It still counts, right?
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).