Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson: 2nd Richest Man In Icelandic History Is Bankrupt

REYKJAVIK, Iceland — The second richest man in Icelandic history has filed for bankruptcy, his spokesman said Friday.

Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, the brewer-turned-billionaire and former owner of the West Ham soccer club, applied for bankruptcy protection at Reykjavik district court, 96 billion Icelandic kronur ($759 million) in debt, Asgeir Fridgeirsson said.

It is the largest bankruptcy filing in Icelandic history.

Gudmundsson was the elder half of a father-and-son pair of billionaires whose success was synonymous with the country's debt-fueled economic miracle. But their fortunes faltered when the Icelandic economy imploded last year under the impact of the credit crunch.

Gudmundsson, 68, and his son, 42-year-old Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson, still Iceland's richest man, were major shareholders in Iceland's second largest bank, Landsbanki, which failed in October. Gudmundsson's holding company, Hansa, has since gone into liquidation and West Ham has been taken over by his creditors.

In December, Forbes magazine, which once rated his personal fortune at $1.4 billion, revised his net worth to zero.

Gudmundsson's son remains a billionaire.

It is not the first time the Gudmundsson has gotten into trouble. Already a successful shipping executive in the 1980s, he was charged with fraud and embezzlement in the aftermath of the 1985 collapse of his firm Hafskip. He was eventually found guilty on five minor counts and escaped a jail sentence, serving 12 months' probation.

Comments

[FoonTheElder]

He didn't get a bailout! That's so un-American! They must be barbarians in Iceland!

[LMPE]

A CEO has to file for bankruptcy? Boo hoo

[Gewyne]

SO can i do this to ?

Take all my families debt, credit cards, loans, mortgages under my wing, give all my assets and money to my family and then file myself for bankruptcy making us all happy wealthy people ?

Or is this a rich person only scheme ?

[FogBelter]

Canary in a Coal Mine.

[glitzqueen]

He and the son were in business together, for pity's sake. They've just structured some scam under which junior gets the assets and pop gets the debts. Iceland's courts should go after the whole family, as is happening to an extent with the Madoff crew.

[NPA]

Well maybe he could still afford a powerball ticket.

[Lahonda]

The Iceland banking system was one of the financial "whiplash portals"... right out there at the end of an investment exchange strand. They caught one of the first snaps back.

[MadCroation]

May he rot in hades.

[mgbgt95]

oh..it's so ridiculous.
i'm just about the smallest island in the world, & the bank let's me run up a debt to 3/4 billion?
isn't that like 1million/person?

[julia23]

Are you confusing a person with a country?

[waldopepper]

Coincidentally in the world of my finances as of today my single credit card balance is Zero.

I have only ever had one credit card and as of today I do not owe a dime on it as I paid off the last $78 on it. I don't owe anyone else a dime either.

Therefore I win - right?

Except that people like me will be penalized by my/our respective governments which ran up huge deficits to combat the economic slowdown caused by the wild speculations of people like this Gentleman.

Nice system.

[Lahonda]

...um, you're at even. How about paying for the benefits of the world around you? We all do.

[waldopepper]

I am sorry but I don't think you understood my point.

I am not dumping my toxic dept on anyone else to pay. Like Mr. Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson: has done on a grand scale - or the average credit card holder who defaults and declares bankruptcy.

So tell me - how would I be paying my fair share if I had a personal debt load of ... oh say $60K or so? Would I then be paying for MORE of my fair share were I in debt?

Or would I merely be a cog in supporting an economy running on (empty) credit? An economy that is in fact NOT an economy. But merely a bubble which is over due for its next burst?

[davidwayneosedach]

At least they didn't run a Ponzi scheme.

[julia23]

They offered ridiculous returns on crappy investments.

[hidenout]

First thing I though of was "The Player", but that was Gudmundsdottir, or something like that.

Beautiful country, wonderful people.

Dad sounds like a real gem, though. Maybe his son will loan him a little money.

[tlgeiger62]

My condolences.