Haraldur Ingi Þorleifsson
Born1977 (age 46–47)
NationalityIcelandic
Other namesHalli Thorleifsson
Önnu Jónu Son
Alma materUniversity of Iceland
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • businessman
  • philanthropist
  • musician
Known forUeno
Websiteharaldurthorleifsson.com

Haraldur Ingi "Halli" Þorleifsson (born 1977) is an Icelandic entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist, and musician.[1] The founder of the company Ueno and the 2019 Icelandic businessman of the year,[2] he sold his company to Twitter in 2021, then worked for Twitter until 2023.[3]

Early life

Haraldur was born with a genetic muscular dystrophy disease known as dysferlinopathy[4] that forced him to use a wheelchair at the age of 25.[5] His parents were Þorleifur Gunnlaugsson and Anna Jóna Jónsdóttir. In 1988, his mother was killed[6] and his stepfather, actor Jóhann Sigurðarson, was seriously injured[7] in a car accident caused by a drunk driver.[8][9]

Business career

In 2014, Haraldur founded the creative technology services company Ueno.[10][11] In 2019, he was named the Icelandic businessman of the year by the Icelandic Association of Business and Economists.[2]

In early 2021, Haraldur sold Ueno to Twitter.[12][13] In the agreement between Twitter and Haraldur, most of the purchase price was paid as salary to maximize the tax he would pay for the sale in Iceland. Haraldur stated that he chose to pay for tax to support the school, health and welfare systems that helped him and other people from low-income families to prosper.[14][15] Per the agreement, he paid the second highest tax of an individual in Iceland in 2021.[16][17]

In March 2021, Haraldur helped launch a project called Ramp Up Reykjavík, a collaborative venture undertaken by local businesses, labour unions, government ministries, associations, banks, and city officials with the intention of helping local businesses install wheelchair ramps to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.[18][19] After the project's success, a new project called Ramp Up Iceland was started with the intention of building 1,000 ramps around Iceland.[20] After quickly building 300 ramps, the goal was raised, in November 2022, to 1,500 ramps by 2026.[21] In December 2022, he was named the Icelandic Person of the Year by RÚV, the Icelandic national broadcaster, as well as Morgunblaðið, and Vísir.is.[22][23]

In February 2023, despite being on a "do not fire" list, Haraldur's employment with Twitter was allegedly terminated after an additional round of layoffs, although he received no confirmation.[24][25] Following an interaction with Elon Musk on Twitter in March 2023, where Musk "trolled" him,[26] Haraldur received confirmation from Twitter's human resources department that his employment had indeed been terminated.[25][27] Following Musk's tweet alleging that Haraldur did no real work at Twitter and was using his disability as an excuse, Haraldur responded in a series of tweets covering his medical condition while criticizing Musk.[28] Musk later apologized for his "misunderstanding of his situation" after a video call with Haraldur, and claimed that Haraldur was considering remaining at Twitter.[29][30]

Music career

In November 2022, under the stage name Önnu Jónu Son, Haraldur performed the opening gig at the Iceland Airwaves music festival.[31] On 9 March 2023, he released his first song and music video Almost over you from the upcoming album The Radio Won't Let Me Sleep.[32][33]

References

  1. ↑ Bjarni Rúnarsson (11 March 2021). "Ætlar aldrei að verða forstjóri aftur" [Never Going to be CEO Again]. RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Viðskiptafræðingur ársins" [Businessman of the Year]. Viðskiptablaðið (in Icelandic). 13 April 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  3. ↑ Sharma, Shweta (7 March 2023). "Musk involved in bizarre Twitter exchange with 'ghosted' worker". The Independent. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "Haraldur Thorleifsson". haraldurthorleifsson.com. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  5. ↑ Karítas Ríkharðsdóttir (11 March 2021). "Horfði á þrepið fyrir utan búðina" [Looked at the steps outside the shop]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  6. ↑ Brynja Þorgeirsdóttir; Arnar Þórisson; Ingvar Haukur Guðmundsson (4 October 2022). "Harmur milljarðamæringsins" [The Billionaire's Tragedy]. Kveikur (in Icelandic). RÚV. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  7. ↑ Gunnþóra Gunnarsdóttir (29 September 2012). "Innra vegakerfi tilfinninganna" [The internal road system of the emotions]. Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  8. ↑ Fontaine, Andie Sophia (3 June 2022). "The Equaliser: Haraldur Þorleifsson On Power, Misinformation, And Leveling The Playing Field". The Reykjavik Grapevine. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  9. ↑ "Drukkinn á stolnum bíl olli banaslysi". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 14 June 1988. p. 5. Retrieved 7 March 2023 – via Tímarit.is.Open access icon
  10. ↑ Stefán Árni Pálsson; Frosti Logason (18 February 2022). "Stærsta sorg sem ég hef lent í" [Biggest sadness I've ever had]. Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  11. ↑ "Óvenjuleg saga Ueno og Haraldar" [The extraordinary story of Ueno and Haraldar]. Viðskiptablaðið (in Icelandic). 15 April 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  12. ↑ Sarah Perez (6 January 2021). "Twitter acqui-hires creative agency Ueno to help design new products". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Þórður Snær Júlíusson (30 January 2021). "Seldi fyrirtækið sitt til Twitter og ætlar að greiða alla skatta af sölunni á Íslandi" [Sold his company to Twitter and plans to pay all taxes on the sale in Iceland]. Kjarninn (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  14. ↑ Eiður Þór Árnason (25 May 2022). "Stóð við sitt og hefur greitt um hálfan milljarð í skatta" [Delivered on his promise and has paid half a billion in taxes]. Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  15. ↑ Þórður Snær Júlíusson (7 March 2023). "Segir Elon Musk hafa hlegið að sér og spyr hvort hann muni ekki borga samkvæmt samningi" [Says Elon Musk laughed at him and asks if he won't pay according to the contract]. Heimildin (in Icelandic). Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  16. ↑ Einar Þór Sigurðsson (18 August 2022). "Haraldur einn af skattakóngum Íslands" [Haraldur one of Iceland's tax kings]. Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  17. ↑ Erik Pomrenke (23 August 2022). "Annual List of Highest Tax Payers in Iceland Published". Iceland Review. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  18. ↑ Larissa Kyzer (6 November 2021). "Reykjavík Ramps Up". Iceland Review (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  19. ↑ "Setur upp 100 rampa og opnar kaffihús" [Installing 100 ramps and opening a cafe]. Viðskiptablaðið (in Icelandic). 10 March 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  20. ↑ Árni Sæberg (20 September 2021). "Ætla að rampa upp Ísland með eitt þúsund römpum" [Going to ramp up Iceland with a thousand ramps]. Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  21. ↑ Pomrenke, Erik (23 November 2022). "President Raises Goal to 1,500 Ramps". Iceland Review. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  22. ↑ Pomrenke, Erik (2 January 2023). "Haraldur Þorleifsson Sweeps Person of the Year Awards". Iceland Review. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  23. ↑ Oddur Þórðarson (30 December 2022). "Haraldur Þorleifsson er manneskja ársins" [Haraldur Þorleifsson is the person of the year]. RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  24. ↑ Kate Duffy (28 February 2023). "4 senior Twitter managers were previously on a 'do not fire' list, but they were fired anyway, report says". Insider. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  25. 1 2 James Clayton (7 March 2023). "Have I been fired? worker asks chief executive Elon Musk on Twitter". BBC News. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  26. ↑ Loh, Matthew (7 March 2023). "Elon Musk publicly trolled a Twitter employee who wanted to know if they still had their job: 'What work have you been doing?'". Business Insider. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  27. ↑ Freyr Gígja Gunnarsson (7 March 2023). "Musk öskuillur út í Harald eftir Twitter-færslur um brottreksturinn" [Musk lashes out at Harald after Twitter posts about the dismissal]. RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  28. ↑ Freyr Gígja Gunnarsson (7 March 2023). "Haraldur tekur Musk til bæna og vill vita hvort hann ætli að borga honum" [Haraldur takes Musk to his prayers and wants to know if he is going to pay him]. RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  29. ↑ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (7 March 2023). "I would like to apologize to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation. It was based on things I was told that were untrue or, in some cases, true, but not meaningful. He is considering remaining at Twitter" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  30. ↑ Samúel Karl Ólason (8 March 2023). "Musk biður Harald afsökunar". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  31. ↑ "Airwaves 2022: Pre-Opening Night Review". Reykjavík Grapevine. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  32. ↑ Máni Snær Þorláksson (9 March 2023). "Haraldur gefur út tónlistarmyndband". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  33. ↑ "Grapevine New Music Picks: Worm Is Green, Önnu Jónu Son, KÁRI & More". Reykjavík Grapevine. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
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