Mohn did not himself attend the banquet, where the donation was announced in a speech held by Kåre Rommetveit, the business manager for Bergen’s medical research foundation. This foundation will be the recipient of Mohn’s generous gift.

"It is the donations received from the Mohn family through Frank Mohn AS that have made it possible to accumulate this fund," says Rommetveit.

After balancing the books, the Frank Mohn AS board of directors decided to donate 50 million Norwegian crowns of the company profits, to the foundation. An additional sum of 12,5 million crowns was also donated to further bolster the fund. There are no binding restrictions attached to the gift.

Rommetveit is at present unable to say how the donation will be put to use.

The largest private benefactor in Norway
"We have barely registered receipt of the money," he says.  The foundation board will discuss the matter in detail. The gift will increase the total assets considerably: The total amount is nearly 270 million Norwegian crowns.

Altogether the University of Bergen and Bergen’s research foundation - the other foundation that is founded on donations from the Mohn-family – has received a total of 635 million Norwegian crowns by way of gifts and investment earnings.

"This is one of a string of donations from Trond Mohn and Frank Mohn AS that have without doubt, made the Mohn-family the biggest private benefactor to research in Norway," says Rommetveit.

A billion in funding
The two foundations will together be able to contribute about 30 million Norwegian crowns yearly, to research.  Together UiB and L Meltzer’s College Fund, which now administers funds amounting to 370 million crowns, administer funds for well over 1 billion crowns.