Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Karsten Warholm’s 2022 Incomes Revealed
Norway is one of the few countries in the world where tax lists are published so we now know to the penny how much their top track & field stars made in 2022
By Robert JohnsonNorway is one of the few countries in the world where tax lists are public. Yes, that's right. Everyone's income goes into a searchable database. The only restriction is if you look up someone else's income, they are sent an email to let them know you looked them up (the media is exempt from the email being sent).
So we now know to the penny how much Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Henrik Ingebrigtsen, Filip Ingebrigtsen, Gjert Ingebrigtsen, Karsten Warholm and Karoline Grøvdal made in 2022.
Winning Olympic gold paid off handsomely for Jakob Ingebrigtsen as his income skyrocketed in 2022.
Jakob pulled in $*,***,*** in 2022..... This article is behind our Supporters Club paywall. Support independent journalism and join the SC today.
Join Our Supporters Club To Keep Reading
Sign up today to access exclusive Supporters Club content, bonus podcasts, discounts, and enhanced forums.
Choose the Annual Subscription for a bonus 12-week training program and free t-shirt.
Norway is one of the few countries in the world where tax lists are public. Yes, that’s right. Everyone’s income goes into a searchable database. The only restriction is if you look up someone else’s income, they are sent an email to let them know you looked them up.
A couple different media organizations in Norway have looked up the incomes of a few prominent track & field athletes (the Norwegian media has an exemption — when they put in a request, the subject does not get an email) and we have the results.
Winning Olympic gold paid off handsomely for Jakob Ingebrigtsen as his income skyrocketed in 2022. He made the most of any track & field athlete in 2022 in Norway — even more than fellow Olympic champ and 400m hurdles world record holder Karsten Warholm.
According to the Norwegian tax list, Jakob Ingebrigtsen made 11,269,488 Norwegian Kroner (NOK) in 2022 — just north of $1 million ($1,026,689.80). That’s a huge bump of more than 7 million NOK from 2021 according to Stavanger Aftenblad. So that means Jakob took home under $400k in 2021 when he won Olympic gold (4.2 million NOK is $382,000).
Now it’s important to note that figure is post-deductions but pre-taxes. According to the Norwegian daily newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad (paywalled), “The figures are from 2022 and are taxable income, i.e. the sum of all income minus the deduction. Examples of deductions may be interest and travel expenses and loss of share sales.”
There are a lot of expenses a pro runner could write off — agent’s commission (normally 15% of a shoe deal in the US), travel including altitude camps, physio/medical, etc.
Taxes are high in Norway — the top tax rate is 38.2% (a free tax calculator is here) — and the database also lists taxes paid. Jakob paid nearly 5.3 million NOK in taxes ($480,000) in 2022.
Karsten Warholm made almost as much as Jakob in 2022. His income for 2022 was reported to be 10,259,930 NOK, which is $934,624.22. That was a big drop from what he made in 2021. TV2.no reports he made nearly 18 million NOK ($1.6 million) in 2021.
The tax website also lists people’s fortune (Formue) which is their net worth (though a person’s actual net worth is usually higher than this figure). Jakob’s was listed as zero. Warholm’s was nearly 4.6 millon NOK ($417,300).
Jakob Ingebritsen isn’t the only pro runner in the family. His brothers also are making a nice living. Filip and Henrik Ingebrigtsen both earned north of $200,000 in 2022 while their dad Gjert, who was no longer coaching the boys, reported income of $62,170 in 2022 after deductions. Narve Nordas, who was a student at the time, barely made anything, just $254.
Female Norwegian pro Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal was criminally underpaid, at least by what an American of her ability would be getting. The two-time European XC champ who ran 14:31 in 2022 and was 8th at Worlds in the 5,000m only made $33,701 (370,014 NOK).
Here is a table showing everyone’s pre-tax income for 2022 as well as their net worth and taxes paid, compiled from TV2.no and Stavanger Aftenblad (paywalled).
| Navn (Name) | Inntekt ($Income) | Formue (Fortune) | Skatt (Taxes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jakob Ingebrigtsen f. 2000 |
11,269,488 ($1,026,430) | 0 | 5,276,474 ($480,584) |
| Filip Mangen Ingebrigtsen f. 1993 |
2,639,119 ($240,478) | 1,518,232 ($138,281) | 1,138,233 ($103,671) |
| Henrik Børkja Ingebrigtsen f. 1991 |
3,210,492 ($292,413) | 0 | 1,444,747 ($131,588) |
| Gjert Arne Ingebrigtsen f. 1966 |
682,585 ($62,170) | 783.,29 ($71,400) | 261,356 ($23,804) |
| Narve Nordas f. 1998 |
2,796 ($254) | 324,015 ($29,511) | 0 |
|
Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal
f. 1990 |
370,014 ($33,701) | not listed | 131,787 ($12,083) |
| Karsten Warholm | 10,259,930 ($934,479) | 4,580,959 ($417,300) | 5,032,305 ($461,425) |
SC members, this article is behind our SC paywall. Let’s see how long we can keep it a secret. We talked about this at length on today’s Friday 15 podcast so check that out as it was one of our favorite episodes ever.
Talk about it on our SC messageboard.
