– Must go fast – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

The 54-year-old wants more diversity deep down. This means, among other things, a higher proportion of women. The job is urgent, he thinks.

– Must go fast

– If I am not completely delusional, I hope I can hold out for five years. I plan my life in five year plans, it is a perfect duration. It’s nice not to have too much time, so you can tell people that you had a bit of a bad time. It has to go fast, and that’s good, says Tangen.

It says the proportion of women is 33 percent in the management group, 21 percent in the entire fund.

– In Europe, there are 10% women among portfolio managers. Here we must work much more actively with the recruitment and development of talent. It’s not just about women, but about increasing diversity in general, says Tangen.

He has recently been appointed director of the Petroleum Fund, but various media storms and his great fortune have received most of the attention. An accident on an electric scooter is also part of the story, but Nicolai Tangen has no regrets about taking the job as an oil fund manager.

– It depends on what is important to you in life. I don’t measure my life in money, but in a lot of other things, says Nicolai Tangen.

He is the director of the Petroleum Fund and receives more than NOK 6 million in annual salary for him. But for Nicolai Tangen, becoming a government employee meant a great loss. Now he will manage all the savings of the Norwegians.

– I have no problem understanding that people are skeptical. But one of the important things when it comes to taking care of your oil money is that you know how to make money, says Tangen.

Superyacht and seminar

Kristiansanderen owns, among other things, a superyacht, the Nikata sailboat, which is over 100 feet.

– I have a boat that got a bit big then. But I really enjoy it, or had long, before this job. Because now I don’t have much time, says Tangen.

Although he is known for his spectacular seminars, he was the cabin of Norges Bank and not a superyacht when he assembled his new management team at the Petroleum Fund this week.

They are in the high mountains of Norway, in stark contrast to the luxurious and controversial dream seminar. The revelation for VG was the start of a public debate and hearing at the Storting that nearly cost him his job before starting.

– Yes, Sting won’t come. But you know what? This is kind of a dream seminar, part two. Very different, but to be allowed to be in the Norwegian mountains in Rondane with the group of people that I think are the best in the industry, it’s kind of a dream situation there too, says Tangen.

At the Venastul seminary, they prepare the food themselves. NRK is in the kitchen when Oljefond’s manager, who also has a culinary education, shows us how meat is roasted.

– In general with the roast, it is advisable to do as little as possible. In any case, do not turn it over more than once. Stir as little as possible. Just let it sit until properly caramelized before turning it over, it says.

Tangen eats pizza once a week and has already been to several pizzerias in the capital.

Chef, art and capital

The 54-year-old man’s fortune is not due to culinary knowledge or an interest in art, but to his talent for asset management. Precisely for this reason, he was in charge of increasing the profitability of the fund, which is now close to eleven thousand billion crowns.

Tangen cares more that he has worked hard and has always been interested in learning than he is talented.

– I was pretty introverted at first and was pretty lousy at sports. So you make up for it by working harder in school.

– Do they describe you as good at school?

– Yes, but it was also a lot of work. And then I did a lot of school politics and I was a general of the party in Russia. I had a little fun too, says Tangen.

His interest in art came after his mother reluctantly “dragged him through all the museums in Europe.”

– It is unbearable. But you know what parenting is like. When you hit enough, it eventually goes to the cardboard, says Tangen.

He is one of the largest art collectors in the world, with what is known as the world’s largest individual collection of Nordic modernism. But when he delivered around 3,000 works to his hometown of Kristiansand to display in a new art silo, there was quite a stir. Critics believe that Tangen secured an exceptional showroom, without fulfilling obligations.

When he was going to become director of the Petroleum Fund, problems arose again.

– I never thought there would be so much noise, but I learned a bit from that noise in that moment. You get a little immune and you learn to stand a little bit in that storm, so it was actually a pretty good workout, says Tangen.

Children do not inherit anything

He has master’s degrees in social psychology, economics, and art history, but he’s always looking to learn even more.

– One of the most important things in my life is learning. This is how you keep your head going. Personally, I’d rather have three or four master’s degrees than a Ph.D. The more you can, the more exciting you will have as a human being. And then it’s these synergies between themes that are fascinating, says Tangen.

As a newly appointed senior manager, Tangen stated at a press conference in March that he wanted a 100 percent inheritance tax. Even then there was a commotion.

– There was a shock and then I learned a lot. The first day came and I realized I shouldn’t comment on something that can be interpreted politically, says Tangen.

He says the plan really only applied to his own children.

– Inheriting a lot of money I think is problematic. If you get something and you have a lot of money, then it is not your benefit. So it’s only because you inherited a lot of money. And if you can’t, then you’ve really scratched it, says Tangen.

– Have you discussed this with your children?

– Yes, if they buy it one hundred percent I’m not sure. But they are smart kids and they understand what I mean. They get a good education, shoes and that sort of thing, says Tangen.

Passersby helped after the fall

He would rather give the money to “other big initiatives,” but Tangen admits that the Oil Fund’s work almost ended up being too expensive.

– If someone had said that I had to give away my company and exchange all the money or all the units of the fund and deposit them in the bank, they would not have applied for that position. Now I’m sitting here, and it’s a little upside down in the bird box, says Tangen.

– Are you a peasant prisoner of the central bank governor Øystein Olsen?

– No, actually I haven’t been. But I became more interested in the job after I met the employees and learned more about what it was. I just became more and more interested, and that’s why I made the decision.

On the way to work on the third day, things went very wrong on the scooter.

– I have used these scooters every day. I think it is an absolutely ingenious invention. It takes nine minutes from where I live and the rent costs 37 kroner. So preferably you shouldn’t crash.

He slipped on a wet tram rail and crashed directly into the asphalt. Then he went to the emergency room.

– It feels a bit small, of course. But there were some good passersby who helped me up. It might not be my proudest moment, says Tangen.

He says he will get back “on the horse” as soon as his shoulder is better.