Arne Naess Jr. was a Norwegian businessman, shipping magnate, mountaineer, and the second ex-husband of Diana Ross.
He was born on December 8, 1937, in Germany, but passed away on January 13, 2004, in Groot Drakenstein Mountains.
He was said to have passed away after falling over 300 feet while climbing a mountain in South Africa. He was 66 years old at the time of his death.
But after Arne Naess Jr.’s death, many have been asking who took over his enormous wealth and his $600m net worth.
Here’s what we know so far about who inherited Arne Naess Jr.’s wealth and estate.
Arne Naess Jr.’s net worth at the time of death
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Naess Jr.’s shipping empire was worth over $600 million at the time of his death in 2004. He was not a billionaire at the time of his death.
He made his money through three two: shipping and oil, and real estate.
When Næss moved to New York in 1964, he worked for his uncle Erling Dekke Næss, who was a shipping magnate and businessman.
After working for him for four years, he launched his own firm in London in 1968 where he was successful in shipping and oil, and in real estate.
He went on to make a few bad investments in the 1990s in Pyramid scheme Global Money Games.
Who did Arne Naess Jr. leave his fortune to?
Arne was married three times.
He first married Swedish national Filippa d’Orey, in 1966 and had three children with her. They are son Christoffer and daughters Katinka and Leona, the lattermost of whom became a singer-songwriter.
After their divorce, Næss met singer and actress Diana Ross in 1985 during a trip in the Bahamas. After dating for a while, the two tied the knot in a civil ceremony later in the year. Næss and Ross had two sons named Ross and Evan. Næss became the stepfather to Ross’s stepdaughters Rhonda, Chudney, and Tracee. The couple eventually settled into a transcontinental marriage, with Næss spending most of his time in London and Ross remaining in the United States with her children. The two divorced in 2000 after being separated for a year.
Næss moved on to marry Norwegian-born Camilla Astrup. They had two sons named Nicklas and Louis.
He was a father of seven children – six sons and a daughter.
However, after his passing, it is not clear who was fortunate to be the next in line to inherit his $600 million fortune. Though many argue that Diana Ross inherited the majority shares of his company and estate, it has still not been established who took charge of Arne’s estate.
Having said that, it is believed that, his fortune was shared among his seven children.
This article was originally published in 2022. It has been revised and updated to reflect current events. We’ve edited this article to add more context and relevant pictures and videos. Despite the careful revision and editing from our editorial desk, there might be a few loopholes and incomplete information in this article. If you find this article unhelpful or incomplete and would like to contribute to it, do reach out to our Chief Editor via [email protected]
