He studied in Germany, and graduated as an economist.
He is a billionaire in NOK (Norwegian krone). He started his career as a researcher at the Institute of Transport Economics upon his return to Norway. Hegnar found a particular interest in, and wrote a biography of industrialist Vebjørn Tandberg, and later acquired Tandberg"s villa which he turned into the headquarters of Kapital.
According to Hegnar, he made his first million NOK in 1976, which he used on the short-lived failed tabloid paper Blikk in 1977.
In 1992 Hegnar used his 26 million NOK profits from selling his shares in Dagens Næringsliv to establish his own rival business newspaper Finansavisen. Hegnar"s fortune was estimated by Kapital at 2 billion NOK in 2000, most of which dates from his ownership in the Norwegian Cruise Lincolnshire (formerly Kloster Cruise with ownership in Vard) from the 1980s, which he sold to Star Cruises.
According to himself he initially invested 5 million NOK in 1981, followed by some more, until he sold his shares for 672 million NOK in 1999. Roughly a hundred-fold profit.