OSLO, Norway (AP) — Olav Thon, a billionaire entrepreneur recognizable for his bright red cap who went from selling leather and fox hides in his youth to build one of Norway's biggest real estate empires, has died, his company said Saturday. He was 101.
“It is with great sadness that we have today received the news that Olav Thon has passed away,” Olav Thon Gruppen said in a statement. The cause of death was not immediately specified.
Thon was born in the village of Ål in the Hallingdal Valley, northwest of Oslo, on June 29, 1923.
He had initially planned to study medicine, but World War II extinguished those hopes, and he instead turned to breeding animals for their fur at his home farm, according to Norwegian news agency NTB.
Thon eventually moved from selling leather into real estate and purchased his first apartment building in 1950.
From there, he built a group that today employs thousands of staffers and counts over 80 shopping centers in Norway and neighboring Sweden. It also owns some 90 hotels in those two countries as well as Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands, according to the company.
He transferred most assets of the company to the Olav Thon Foundation after it was created in 2013.
Thon was known for his penchant for the outdoors, and supported tourism and hiking activities in Norway. His philanthropy included support for medical research, notably in muscular-skeletal disorders.
After his longtime wife Inge-Johanne Thon died in 2018, he married again — aged 95 — the following year to Sissel Berdal Haga at the century-old Hotel Bristol in Oslo, which was his first hotel purchase, bought in 1974.
FILE - 95 year old businessman and billionaire Olav Thon, right poses for a photo with Sissel Berdal Haga, after their wedding at Hotel Bristol in Oslo, Friday, June 21, 2019. (Berit Roald/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The two teams suing NASCAR over an antitrust complaint said Saturday they will compete in 2025 as “open teams” after the sanctioning body removed anticompetitive release claims that will allow them to race while the legal process continues.
23XI Racing, the team owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports refused in September to sign take-it-or-leave it revenue sharing offers made by NASCAR just 48 hours before the start of the playoffs.
The teams have filed an antitrust suit alleging NASCAR is “monopolistic bullies” and were denied in federal court last week a request to be recognized as “chartered” teams as the suit continues. A charter is essentially a franchise and guarantees prize money, a spot in the field each week, and other protections.
Both teams insisted they'd compete as “open” teams, which would require them to show up each week and qualify their cars for every race. Open teams also do not receive the same benefits as chartered teams, including a fair cut from the financial purses.
After losing the injunction — which both teams are appealing — Hamlin reversed course and said it was “TBD” if 23XI would be at the season-opening Daytona 500 in February as an open team.
The options for 23XI and Front Row, which is owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, were to either not race or risk a judge dismissing the lawsuit outright because of the claim teams can't sue the sanctioning body.
That language that prohibited NASCAR from being sued was removed in documents delivered to teams on Friday.
In a Saturday morning update from the attorney for the two teams, Jeffrey Kessler said NASCAR “has removed the anticompetitive release requirement in its open agreement" to allow 23XI and Front Row to operate as open teams. Both teams currently have two chartered cars and have purchase agreements with Stewart-Haas Racing for a third charter each.
Those sales have not closed and the existing four charters between 23XI and Front Row expire at the end of the year. Kessler has asked for an expedited December hearing on the appeal as the season begins in February.
Kessler said the teams will enter as “open” teams.
“My clients will continue their appeal to the 4th Circuit to issue an injunction so they can run as chartered teams therefore avoiding irreparable harm,” Kessler said. “Both race teams are pleased that they will continue to be a participant in this sport that they love while fighting to make it fair and just for all.”
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This story has been corrected to show NASCAR did not come to an agreement but removed a claim.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23XI Racing, watches during qualifying for a NASCAR Cup Series Championship auto race, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/John Locher)
FILE - Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports, and Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23XI Racing, pose before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway, Oct. 6, 2024, in Talladega, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill, File)
Michael Jordan, center, and Curtis Polk, left, co-owners of 23XI Racing, watch during qualifying beside 23XI Racing President Steve Lauletta, right, for a NASCAR Cup Series Championship auto race, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/John Locher)
