Technology tycoon and research benefactor:
Fred Kavli - the billionaire who became a patron of research
"Wealthy Norwegians don't know what they are missing," says the American billionaire philanthropist Fred Kavli in the Norwegian dialect of his youth. He is donating the bulk of his fortune to research - and encourages others to do the same.
"It's so delicious to get rid of it," smiles the youthful, animated 81-year-old in the farmyard of his childhood home in the Romsdalen valley in northwestern Norway.
(Photo: Terje Aamodt)
Hometown hero
It is one of the summer's loveliest days, and Fred - or Fridtjof, as he is still known in these parts - has returned to Norway to be honoured by the people of his hometown Eresfjord (population 450), a rural village near Molde. Kavli personifies the American dream. The son of a farmer, he left empty-handed for the USA - and became a billionaire as an entrepreneur of technological innovations.
"It's very nice, very charming," he says of the local award he has just received. "I really appreciate this honour from the people here where I grew up."
Branding
Time magazine called Fred Kavli "the new Nobel", a nickname also used by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation in its 2007 documentary on him. Like Alfred Nobel - and unlike most wealthy Norwegian capitalists - Kavli does not want to leave his fortune to his children and grandchildren. He prefers to endow research and development.
"I find it rewarding to see others using the fortune that I have amased to create something new," says Fred Kavli. (Photo: Terje Aamodt)
In the last few years, the name Kavli has become well-known in academic circles around the world. Name recognition, the 81-year-old admits, was his intention.
"We are building a brand in order to create a synergistic effect," he explains, citing as examples the Kavli Foundation, which awards biennial prizes of USD 1 million for research in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience, respectively, and the 15 Kavli Institutes at leading universities on three continents. But the Kavli brand represents much more: Kavli professorships, Kavli symposia, the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards, and the Kavli Royal Society International Centre near London.
Funding up-and-coming researchers
Fred Kavli is not looking to reward researchers who have already distinguished themselves; that is the purpose of the Nobel Prize. Instead, Kavli wants to support ambitious, persistent scientists seeking answers to the many unsolved questions within basic research.
Norwegians May-Britt and Edvard Moser are beneficiaries of Kavli's generosity. The couple run the Centre for the Biology of Memory at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim. The centre now coexists with the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience at NTNU and has been granted status as a Norwegian Centre of Excellence under the national scheme coordinated by the Research Council.
"Wealth should be recycled"
(Photo: Terje Aamodt)
What actually drives a capitalist like Fred Kavli to put nearly all his riches into an enormous foundation dedicated to basic research?
"Honestly, it is a great joy to me," answers the philanthropist. "Of course it is satisfying that my name will live on long after I am gone, but I also find it rewarding to see others using the fortune I have amassed to create something new. A true entrepreneur admires others who accomplish things. I myself became rich not so much out of some desire to make loads of money, but because I always get such enjoyment from creating."
Kavli believes that affluent Americans think quite differently from their European counterparts in this respect. "It is more highly valued to be successful and earn money in the USA than in Europe - but it is also much more common to donate generously. Europeans hand wealth down from generation to generation. I find the American approach healthier somehow. For the capitalist system to function well, wealth needs to be recycled. Concentrating wealth in the hands of a few individuals and families, as in South America, is unhealthy. What's more, relatives are not always the best people to look after a large fortune."
Spectacular Eresfjord with the Eikesdalsvatnet lake.
Childhood home to become gourmet restaurant
Even Kavli's hometown is benefitting from his creative drive; Moen farm, his childhood home, is being converted into a gourmet restaurant and country inn.
"A foundation will run the farm, while the restaurant will be operated by a master chef, who has won Norwegian and Nordic awards, and his wife," explains Kavli with his usual enthusiasm.
The idyllic farm is a model of Norwegian beauty. Surrounded by spectacular nature, including a fjord, mountains, rivers, and the beautiful Eikedalsvatnet lake, the compound will offer tourists from around the world a unique experience. Kavli candidly claims that his birthplace must be the loveliest spot on earth.
Entrepreneur at 14
Picturesque as the farm is, a young boy growing up in such an out-of-the-way place could get bored and restless. It helped Fred that his seven-year-older brother included him in so many activities.
During the Second World War, the two young brothers worked in their farm's small sawmill, making wood chips for gasification into fuel for automobiles. "My brother invented a machine to make the chips, and he even patented it. But when the war ended, no one needed the chips anymore, of course! So there was no use for the machine," laughs Kavli.
When his brother left to study in Oslo, 14-year-old Fred took over the business. "I spent long days in the sawmill, cutting planks we sold to the furniture-makers in the neighbouring areas. Without the money I earned then, I would probably not have been able to get much of an education," he reminisces.
Aptitude and education
Kavli believes that a knack for making money is something people are born with. "There are exceptions, but most of the successful businesspeople I know began making money very early in life. One friend of mine brags that he hadn't even finished high school before he was earning good money selling fruits and vegetables. He's worth over 10 billion Norwegian crowns now."
But a facility for business in no way precludes the utility and necessity of an education. "I know I really shouldn't stress the inborn talent so much, because I truly feel that education is very valuable."
Fred Kavli himself underwent comprehensive schooling and university studies. "At high school in Firda I became especially interested in physics and mathematics. But my best subject was, believe or not, Norwegian!" Laughing again, he admits his skills in his native tongue have diminished with his years away.
"But learning to express myself well in writing has been extremely important for me as a businessman."
Simple is best
Kavli has mentored many young entrepreneurs. "Often, when they show me their business plan, I have to ask them, 'What does this actually mean?' Once they have explained it to me, I advise them, 'Why in the world don't you just write that?'"
Researchers, too, must endeavour to express themselves more simply, says Kavli. "The best researchers are usually those who are also talented at communicating their research to laypeople. They have such a deep understanding of what they are doing that they are able to explain the most complex relationships to others." In developing his products and services, Kavli has always kept to the old adage, "Simple is best."
"Think simple. There is no better advice for becoming successful."
From dreamer to technology tycoon
After high school, Kavli's path took him to the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim, where he graduated with a degree in theoretical physics in 1956. Just days later, he left for the USA. He felt immediately at home and began pursuing the dream of many immigrants - earning big money in the Land of Plenty.
Needless to say, he succeeded. The enormous demand for engineers in the USA meant high wages. His first job was at a small firm that produced sensors for NASA's new Atlas rocket. After a while, being chief engineer at someone else's company was not good enough for the ambitious Norwegian. He wanted to create something himself.
One day he placed an advertisement in the newspaper: "Engineer seeks investor to start new company." It was a time when the USA was eager for technology experts, and this unknown Norwegian received several responses.
He got his wish, founding the Kavlico Corporation. The first contract was with General Electric for making sensors for practically every military and civilian aircraft produced in the USA. In time the company began supplying the space-related industry, then the automobile industry as well.
Around 1960 Kavli began investing in real estate. Kavlico continued growing steadily. In 2000, just two months before the Internet bubble burst, he sold the company for USD 300 million.
Philanthropy and research interests
Having long since attained the American dream, Kavli knew the time had come to realise another yearning of his youth - to do something for humankind. For alongside his technical insight and extraordinary business acumen, Kavli had always nurtured an interest in research and technology that could lead to great advances.
He is convinced that research is the road to a better existence for the world's population. "Virtually the entire modern world owes its existence to research. Just look at the fantastic progress we have made in our ability to combat disease. Or at the enormous rise in the standard of living the world enjoys. Only 100 years ago, our average life expectancy was 47 years!"
Financial crisis soon over
Kavli cares about prolonging his own life as well - with 45 minutes of exercise each morning, oatmeal for breakfast every day, only fruit for lunch, and sushi for dinner five evenings a week.
It appears to be paying off. At 81 he is sharp of mind and fit of body. He works harder than ever to earn more money for the Kavli Foundation - primarily through real estate investments. A typical workday does not end before 7 o'clock in the evening.
The financial crisis does concern Kavli somewhat, but has not robbed him of any sleep. "The value of the foundation has dropped substantially, but the situation is beginning to turn around in the USA now. There is a chance for some slight economic growth at the end of this year. I expect 2010 will be better."
Faith in Obama
Despite his close ties to the Republican Party, Kavli is convinced that US President Obama will do a fine job.
"Obama is very keen on research. His general stimulus package is important and is the right way to overcome this financial crisis. I'm worried he may be starting up too many projects at once and will end up with a budget deficit that is far too high. But it is good that he has earmarked substantial sums for research and aims to increase the country's research budget to three per cent of GDP."
Long-term thinking yields results
"I believe in investing for the long run," states Kavli. "That's what all my activities involve - investing in basic research that can produce findings sometime in the future."
According to Kavli, individuals and nations alike should become better at thinking long-term - his homeland Norway as well. In all seriousness he says, "Thanks to its petroleum activities Norway is doing well economically, and I admire what has been accomplished here. But I am surprised at the short-term thinking of Norwegian politicians. Compared to other industrialised countries, Norway spends little on research, even though it has one of the highest GDPs per capita in the industrialised world."
"If Norway did not have oil and gas, the politicians would be forced to think differently. They need to acknowledge that these resources will not last forever. The best investment they could make is to invest in their own population through research and education," counsels Fred Kavli.
Fridtjof "Fred" Kavli
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This article was originally published in Norwegian in Forskning magazine no. 3/09. Read more articles in English from this issue.
- Published:
- 16.09.2009
- Last updated:
- 23.09.2009
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- Download Forskning magazine no.3/09 (in Norwegian) (PDF-1 798.2 KB)
