hagen is educated at "kjøpmannsinsituttet" (now part of the bi norwegian business school). he founded the rimi discount store chain along with his father in the 1970s, and retained ownership until the 2000s, when he sold to swedish ica and ahold. most of the money was ploughed into orkla. hagen reportedly owns one of the biggest sailboats in europe and used to own his own island in the caribbean.