Royal Caribbean Billionaire founder dead at 90

Arne Wilhelmsen, a founder of Royal Caribbean Cruises and a member of its board of directors for more than 30 years, died Saturday in Palma, Spain. He was 90 years old.

Credit: Royal Caribbean

Born on June 15, 1929, in Oslo, Norway, Wilhelmsen earned his MBA at Harvard Business School and worked as a chartering assistant for Norway's EB Lund & Co. and later as a shipbroker in New York, according to Royal Caribbean. He joined his family business -- Anders Wilhelmsen & Co AS -- in 1954, before becoming its president in 1961.

"At a time when the rest of the world thought cruising was a niche use for old transatlantic liners, Arne was already seeing glimmers of the growth that was possible," said Richard Fain, RCL's chairman and CEO. "He had a vision of the modern cruise industry when the 'industry' might have been a dozen used ships, total."

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