Kid-Free Cruises Create $5 Billion Fortune for Viking’s Founder

Torstein Hagen founded his cruise line with a few simple principles in mind. Among them: focus on the wealthy and intellectually curious; no nickel-and-diming; and no kids.

Almost three decades on, his Viking Holdings Ltd. is among the world’s biggest luxury cruise operators, and Hagen’s fortune may surpass $5 billion once the company completes its initial public offering in New York.

Torstein Hagen

Photographer: Ben Stevens/PA Images /Getty Images

Viking seeks to raise as much as $1.3 billion from the share sale, betting that investors are willing to pour money into a sector that was decimated by the Covid pandemic and now is rebounding.

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