A Billionaire 22-Year-Old Was Fined $30,000 for Drunk Driving

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Katharina G. Andresen, a Norwegian heiress, is the world’s wealthiest 22-year-old.

And as of this week, she’s likely the wealthiest 22-year-old to have been charged with drunk driving.

This spring, Andresen was pulled over in her Audi and found to have a blood-alcohol content three-times Norway’s legal limit.

In Norway, fines for drunk driving are based on one’s wealth. This week, Andresen was fined the equivalent of $30,400. Forbes estimates her net worth at $1.23 billion.

In fact, the Associated Press reported, the price of the fine could have been a whole lot greater.

“Oslo City Court said the penalty could have been up to 40 million krone ($4.9 million) if based on Andresen’s assets, but they ‘have not yielded any dividend yet’ and she has no fixed income,” the wire service said. “The court did increase the fine because of her estimated wealth, however.”

Norwegian press reported Andresen’s sentence also included 18-days of imprisonment and a 13-month license suspension.

“I’m sorry I drove with [alcohol in my blood]. I thought I no longer had it after so long, but should have checked it. And I’m very sorry, “Andresen said in a statement to the press.

Andresen’s family wealth stretches back centuries, with her great-great-grandfather having founded what is today one of the largest banks in Scandinavia. In 2007, Andresen and her sister each received 42.2 percent of the conglomerate owned by their father, Ferd.

“In Scandinavian culture, fortunes were often handed over to the younger generation earlier than in other countries, as a way of engaging the young in the family business,” the Telegraph has reported. It is also likely beneficial to do so for tax purposes, the paper said.

Andresen told the court she is a student and effectively lives with her parents. She has a monthly stipend of about $1,100 and about $110,000 in a checking account, she said.

On her Instagram account, Andresen can be found sporting high-end fashion…

http://time.com/money/5029095/a-billionaire-22-year-old-was-fined-30000-for-drunk-driving/?xid=homepage

(time)

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