For Immediate Release
Icelandic Tycoon Jon Olafsson Gets Late-Night Summons and $4.37 Million Judgment
New York Lender Triumphant In Battle With The “Icelandic Richard Branson”
NEW YORK, April 15, 2025 — Entrepreneur Jon Olafsson, dubbed the “Icelandic Richard Branson,” has been ordered to pay $4.37 million to a commercial lender for an unpaid loan he received to expand his Icelandic Glacial upscale bottled water business.
U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil granted the award to New York-based Silvertip Capital LLC via summary judgment after Olafsson and three corporate entities connected to him presented no opposition. Vyskocil, of the Southern District of New York, entered judgment on April 7.
Olafsson remains a polarizing figure in his native Iceland, where he created and once ran a large media conglomerate, and has since led a jet-setting lifestyle. That presented a challenge for Silvertip Capital’s ability to serve him with the lawsuit, which was filed in December 2022.
“He could be anywhere in the world from one week to the next,” said Los Angeles attorney Arash Sadat, a partner at MSD Lawyers, who led the litigation along with New York-based attorney David Pohl of Parker Pohl LLP. “Tracking him down to serve him presented a serious challenge.”
But Icelandic Glacial, headquartered in Culver City, Calif., is frequently placed in films and television productions — so often that since 2016 it has been the “official water” sponsor of the Golden Globe Awards. Knowing that Olafsson would be attending the January 2023 Golden Globe Awards, attorneys hired a former FBI agent turned private investigator to track down Olafsson and serve him at the show, Sadat said.
Though unsuccessful in getting into the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton, where the event is held, the former FBI agent instead hunkered down in the lobby for several hours. Then, around 2 a.m., having obtained Olafsson’s cell phone number, he texted him a simple message: “What room are you in?”
Right away, Olafsson sent his room number back to the unknown texter.
“So, our man simply went upstairs, knocked on the door, and surprised him,” Sadat said.
The judgment calls for Olafsson—who personally guaranteed two one-year loans totaling $3.1 million—to pay Silvertip back, with interest, for a total of $4.37 million. In an amended judgment, Vyskocil ordered that 9 percent interest will accrue annually until Silvertip is paid.
Silvertip, in a statement, noted that it bears no ill will towards Icelandic Glacial. “We are happy that judgment was entered in our favor, but we believe in Icelandic Glacial and look forward to the company’s continued success.”
“We’re pleased that the court correctly ruled in our favor,” added Sadat. “And we will do everything necessary to collect every penny of this judgment.”
Arash Sadat’s legal expertise ranges from complex business disputes to employment and catastrophic injury litigation. He is a partner and founder at Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP of Los Angeles.
