Money makers: Netting a billion from pollock

When crab stocks began to dwindle, American fishing tycoon Chuck Bundrant turned it to his advantage with a little lateral thinking.

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Chuck Bundrant made a fortune selling pollock to Americans
(Image credit: Credit: john angerson / Alamy Stock Photo)

"Chuck Bundrant's story is the stuff of industry legend," saysAlexander Sazonov on Bloomberg. "He knew nothing aboutfishing boats, or catching and processing crab and salmon,"his son and Trident Seafoods CEO, Joseph, explained in acorporate video two years ago. "He'd only watched a moviewith John Wayne in it called North to Alaska." That inspiredthe first-year student in 1961 to drive to Alaska "to earn a fewbucks fishing". With two crab fishermen, Kaare Ness andMike Jacobson, Bundrant built the 135-foot Billikin in 1973,and kitted it out with crab cookers and freezing equipmentso that, unlike other fishing vessels, the boat could stay atsea for longer.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

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