He obtained a short vocational business education and was proficient in English, French, German and Russian.

Lied was also a noted athlete, for instance in 1906 together with Erik Ole Bye he won the Lyle Cup for double sculls.

[3] The first expedition through the Kara Sea was completed in 1913 with explorer Fridtjof Nansen and Siberian industrialist Stephan Vostrotin as prominent passengers.

Lied lectured in Russian in St. Petersburg, in French at the Société Nautique, and in German at the geographical society in Hamburg.

[4][5] In 1914, Lied photographed British naval vessels in the port of Newcastle and was for this arrested according to the Defence of the Realm Act 1914.

[6] Lied's idea for a sea route to Yenisei came from the English businessman Alfred Derry and from Joseph Wiggins’ book on the Northeast passage.

[4][6] In the summer of 1914 Lied organized the transport of river steam ships built in England and Germany to Siberia.

The small convoy that should gather at Tromsø also included cargo ships with 30,000 barrels of cement to the Transsiberian railway.

In Murmansk slight panic occurred as the small convoy of cargo ships was mistaken for German navy.

At Dikson Island Lied encountered Otto Sverdrup that had run aground with his ship Eclipse.

[2][3] Lied together with the British intelligence planned to rescue the Tsar and his family from their house arrest at Tobolsk.

In an attempt to capture some of the company's assets he travelled via Vladivostok to Omsk in 1919 and had meetings with the leader of the counter-revolution Alexander Kolchak.

Wells send relief to the starving people of Petrograd (Nansen that summer travelled to Russia).

On behalf of Alcoa he was searching for bauxite as well as access to hydro electric power for aluminum production.

[6] Around 1930 the surveillance by the secret police and the pressure from the Soviet authorities made life increasingly difficult for Lied.

He soon continued an international business career as senior vice president of Aluminium Union Limited.

Lied wrote the autobiography in London during the second world war and he dedicated the book to «Norway by a loyal son».

He left behind a notable collection of Russian icons and other art (largely compiled during 1920 to 1924), some originated from the Winter palace.