Halli Once Again Highest-Earning Icelander

In their annual publication of Icelanders with the highest incomes, tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Haraldur Thorleifsson, better known as Halli, was named by the industry journal Frjáls Verslun once again as the highest-earning Icelander.

Giving back

According to Haraldur’s reported taxable income, he earned over ISK 108 million [$788,000; €710,000] per month in 2023. The person with the second-highest income earned around ISK 75 million per month.

The tech entrepreneur became well known in Iceland when in 2021 he sold his company, Ueno, to Twitter. During the sale process, he was advised how to avoid paying taxes on the profit legally. Instead, he demanded that the purchase price be paid as salary to maximize the tax he would have to pay. Halli, who uses a wheelchair, has often spoken publically about the support from social systems that he has received in his life, and how he chooses to be paid in such a way that maximizes his taxes paid back to the state. Although Halli is indeed one of Iceland’s top earners, there are Icelanders with higher net worths who earn income instead through investments, which are taxed at a lower rate for capital gains.

Person of the Year

One of Halli’s highest-profile philanthropic projects is Ramp Up, which builds wheelchair accessibility ramps for businesses throughout Iceland.

These efforts, combined with his choice to pay higher taxes, led to him sweeping the “Person of the Year” awards across four major media outlets in Iceland last year.

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