Ellef Ringnes

His father left the farm in 1855, and Ellef was employed as travelling salesman for Christiania Bryggeri at the age of 18.

From 1896 to 1906, Ellef Ringnes was a member of the board of the Holmenkolbanen light rail company, which built and operated the Holmenkollen Line.

[1][3] Ellef and Amund Ringnes sponsored Fridtjof Nansen's Fram expedition, which they in a short period of time led together with businessman Axel Heiberg and shipowner Thomas Fearnley.

Many parties were arranged at the farm house, to which both royal personages and prominent society members were invited.

His residence at St. Hanshaugen Park, dubbed "Cairo" and "Ringnes Castle", was likewise the scene of many parties in his lifetime.