Tollefsen is the founder and chairman of Fredensborg, a Nordic real estate group that controls more than 200,000 homes. The Oslo-based company holds most of these through it's biggest division, Heimstaden. Fredensborg is the main shareholder in Heimstaden, a Malmo, Sweden-based residential property manager.
Tollefsen's fortune is derived from his control of Fredensborg, an investment company with interests in residential real estate. Fredensborg controls more than 200,000 homes based on figures disclosed on its website.
Heimstaden, Fredensborg's main subsidiary, is valued based on its 2024 financial results and the average enterprise value-to-sales and price-to-book multiples of four publicly traded peers: Hufvudstaden, Genova Property Group, TAG Immobilien and Olav Thon Eiendomsselska.
Ivar Tollefsen and Ninja Tollefsen, Ivar's daughter, control 71% of the share capital in Heimstaden, according to its 2024 annual report. Preference shares aren't valued separately to avoid double counting.
Shares in Fredensborg and its subsidiaries held by Ninja Tollefsen are credited to Ivar in this analysis to reflect his status as founder and chairman.
The value of Fredensborg's smaller interests are uncertain and excluded from the analysis. Their inclusion could increase his net worth.
Christian Dreyer, a spokesperson for Heimstaden, didn't respond to a request for comment on the net worth calculation.
Tollefsen was born in Asker, near Oslo.
As a teenager, he used money sourced from paper routes to acquire DJ equipment. This led to the creation of a party supply business, which Tollefsen sold when he was 23.
Property investment followed and Tollefsen began having success through the acquisition of residential apartment buildings. This led to the creation of Fredensborg, his holding company, and it's biggest subsidiary Heimstaden.
By 2014, Heimstaden had begun buying property in Denmark. Purchases in Norway, Germany and the Netherlands soon followed.
By 2024, Heimstaden owned about 160,000 homes.