Superstar forward Erling Haaland invested in assets in Norway. But he sold everything.

On July 11, one of the most anticipated matches of the World Cup will take place: England and Norway will face off in the quarterfinals. For Norway, this is a historic moment; the team has never reached this stage of the World Cup before. The season’s biggest star—Norway’s forward Erling Haaland, whom The New Yorker described as playing “like a Viking”—will take the field. Håland ranks fourth on Forbes’ list of the highest-paid soccer players at this tournament, trailing only Ronaldo, Messi, and Mbappé. Since 2023, he has also been an investor. What is his strategy?

Hollann never strays from the image of a simple, modest guy who spends his time in provincial Brune, even when he’s flying in a private jet and engaging in tax optimization, — that’s how Norwegian politician Mimir Kristjansson, who represents the district where the soccer player grew up in parliament, described his legendary compatriot in an interview with *The New Yorker*.

According to Kristiansson, it is precisely this ostentatious modesty that allows Håland to be a billionaire while still being seen by his compatriots as “folkelig”—that is, a down-to-earth, ordinary guy.

Part of his investment strategy—also a kind of “folkelig”—involves investing in the local stock market. His first purchase was the shipping company Höegh Autoliners, whose shares are traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange. He then bought shares in Akastor, a Norwegian investment company that operates in the oilfield services sector and owns a portfolio of industrial and financial assets, as well as shares in the shipping bank Maritime & Merchant Bank. He sold nearly half of his position in Höegh just two months later, locking in a 22–30% return including dividends; the sale of the bank’s shares could have netted him about 2.4 million Norwegian kroner ($246,000 at the current exchange rate—here and throughout).

One of Holann’s worst investment decisions was buying shares in the Norwegian biotech company Nykode Therapeutics. He invested in the company in February 2024, acquiring 700,000 shares. The entire purchase cost the forward approximately 12 million Norwegian kroner ($1.8 million), at 17.07 kroner per share. It was a significant investment—about 14% of his total investment portfolio, says Oninvest analyst Aldiyar Anuarbekov.

Five days after the purchase, Holann sold half of his stake; it appears that his father, Alfie Holann, became the owner.

And in November 2024, Nykode's stock price plummeted after the pharmaceutical company Genentech terminated its collaboration and licensing agreement with Nykode.

In April 2026, the Norwegian publication Nettavisen reported that Holann had sold his remaining shares in Nykode Therapeutics for three kroner per share—82% less than his purchase price. As a result, the sale of the remaining shares resulted in a loss of approximately 5 million Norwegian kroner for the Norwegian forward compared to the purchase price.

Hollan makes his investments through Pillage 3, a company he registered in Norway in February 2023. It, in turn, is owned by the Luxembourg-based holding company Pillage 2, which has assets of approximately 347 million kroner ($34 million). The companies’ names translate to “plunder.” This may be a reference to the forward’s tactics on the field, where he “ravages” the opponent’s defense with his goals, or to the days when the Vikings raided England.

From a business perspective, there is also some irony in the name. Under the Norwegian Tax Code, dividends and capital gains received by an individual in Norway are taxed at a rate of up to 37.8%. If the same income is received by a Norwegian company, it falls under the equity exemption rule: 97% is exempt from income tax. Capital gains from the sale of shares within the company are no longer subject to personal income tax but rather to corporate income tax at a rate of 22%, and the proceeds can be reinvested without paying tax immediately.

According to Pillage 3’s financial statements, which Aldiyar Anuarbekov reviewed, the company has investments in securities totaling 223 million kronor. The value of Pillage 3’s securities portfolio has nearly tripled since its founding through the end of 2024—from 85.5 million kronor.

Norwegian registries publicly list Pillage 3’s holdings in local companies valued at approximately 17 million kroner. This suggests that roughly 8% of the securities portfolio held by Holann is invested in the local market. “But it’s important to understand that the disclosure threshold in Norwegian shareholder registries applies only to large stakes. So the undisclosed portion could include both foreign securities and small stakes in local companies,” said the analyst.

According to Anuarbekov, over the same period, Pillage 3 increased its equity 9.5-fold—from 13.4 million kronor ($1.31 million) to 127.9 million kronor ($12.5 million). However, not all of this growth can be attributed to the business’s high return on investment.

In April 2026, Nettavisen reported the complete sale of the Norwegian assets from Holann's portfolio.

According to *Finansavisen*, over the past 12 months, Pillage 3 sold securities worth 13.3 million kroner while making purchases totaling only 1 million. In addition to Nykode, the company sold its stake in Akastor: 200,000 shares were purchased at 10.3 kroner each and sold for approximately 15 kroner each, generating approximately 900,000 (92,300) kroner in revenue.

The company also exited its stake in Maritime & Merchant Bank (traded on the Euronext NOTC over-the-counter market), which had been the largest holding in the Norwegian portfolio: The shares were purchased at approximately 13.5 kroner each, and he sold them for 17.5, which could have yielded up to 2.4 million kroner ($235,000).

In other words, if we look at the individual trades rather than just the bottom line of the annual report, the picture is mixed: significant gains on Akastor and the bank offset the painful loss on Nykode. And the Norwegian national team’s forward also ended up in the black. Aldiyar Anuarbekov adds that the diversification of the disclosed Norwegian portion of Holan’s portfolio “appeared weak”: more than half was in the illiquid Maritime & Merchant stock, and nearly all positions were tied to the Norwegian shipping and oilfield services sectors.

Hollan’s capital is managed directly by a group of well-known figures in the Norwegian financial market: Ole Ertvog, Harald Espedal, Odd Torlan, Dag Sigvart Koda, and Arne Fredly. The board of directors of his investment company includes his father, Alfi, and his father’s friend, former professional soccer player Egil Estestad.

It turns out that we are not dealing with a private investor with a stock portfolio, but with the owner of professionally managed capital.

The divestment from Norwegian stocks in the spring of 2026 is most likely a change in investment strategy rather than an exit from the market as such. Pillage 3’s 2025 financial statements, expected by the end of July, will reveal exactly where this portion of Holann’s investments has been redirected.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor