Magne Furuholmen was only fifteen when he composed the synth riff that opens “Take On Me”, one of the most recognisable hooks in pop history. Four decades later, the Norwegian keyboardist is still working as a musician, visual artist and cultural figure.
Searching for his net worth in 2026 turns up wildly different numbers. Some are plainly unreliable. This article separates what can be documented from what is guesswork.
Magne Furuholmen’s Net Worth in 2026
Short answer: his net worth is not publicly confirmed.
I found no net worth estimate from Forbes, the Norwegian business magazine Kapital, or any other established financial publication. Without one, any specific figure would be speculation.
Here is what exists:
- A low estimate. The celebrity database Celebs Money puts his 2026 net worth at USD 100,000 to USD 1 million. It gives no methodology, and the range is so wide and low for a founding member of a band with decades of global sales that it should be treated cautiously.
- Very high figures. Some gossip-style sites circulate numbers in the hundreds of millions of US dollars, usually alongside claims about restaurant chains and perfume lines. I could not corroborate any of those businesses, and at least one such page labels its own story as likely false. We don’t use those figures here.
- Old tax data. The only hard numbers I found are from Norwegian tax records, and they are about two decades old (see below).
Net worth, annual income and band revenue are different things. A hit song or a world tour does not equal personal wealth, since royalties are split among writers, managers, labels and taxes.
What the Norwegian Tax Lists Show
Norway publishes tax assessments, which makes it unusual among countries for celebrity finance reporting. In a Klikk.no review of Norway’s best-paid musicians based on 2005 figures, Furuholmen had:
- a net income of NOK 3,141,097
- tax paid of NOK 961,324
- taxable wealth (formue) listed as NOK 0
Two cautions apply. First, this is 2005 data, so it says nothing about his finances today. Second, taxable wealth on a tax list is not the same as market net worth. It reflects assessed values and deductions, and it often understates what someone owns, especially in art, royalties or private companies. I could not access his recent tax figures, so I won’t guess at them.
Early Life and Background
Furuholmen was born on 1 November 1962 in Oslo, Norway, according to Wikipedia and IMDb. He turns 64 on 1 November 2026. He is Norwegian, goes by the nickname “Mags,” and stands about 1.89 m (6 ft 2½ in) tall.
An artist biography on a fan-merchandise site reports that his father, Kåre, a jazz musician, died in a plane crash when Magne was five. I could not confirm this in a mainstream source, so treat it as unverified.
The a-ha Years
Furuholmen has been the band’s keyboardist since a-ha formed in 1982, though he also plays guitar, per Wikipedia. He co-wrote most of the band’s best-known songs with Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, including “Stay on These Roads,” “Manhattan Skyline” and “Cry Wolf.”
Sales figures vary by source and era:
- A 2010 Shropshire Star interview cited about 35 million album sales.
- A 2018 Yorkshire Post piece cited an estimated 100 million records sold in the band’s biggest years.
- Furuholmen’s Apple TV profile says more than 50 million albums.
The differences come down to what is counted (albums versus all records) and when. No one figure is authoritative, which is one reason band-level numbers don’t translate into a trustworthy personal net worth.
Reunions and Recent Work
A-ha announced a farewell tour in 2010, but The Local Norway reported the comeback in 2015, with the album Cast in Steel. According to a biography page, a-ha later recorded True North in Bodø, released in October 2022 with a concert film and world tour. The same page also lists:
- the 2024 album Under with Savoy
- Furuholmen’s solo album Living With Ourselves (early 2025, first as a limited vinyl edition)
- a late-2024 six-month setback from long Covid
- a 2025 book, Livslinjer, by journalist Ørjan Nilsson
I could not verify a-ha’s current touring or recording plans for 2026, and rumours of a new album remain unconfirmed.
Furuholmen as a Visual Artist
Furuholmen has led a second career in visual art since the late 1980s. Per Wikipedia, he has held solo exhibitions in Norway, the UK and elsewhere in Europe. His work is held in institutions including the Norwegian State Archives and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
Two milestones stand out:
- In 2016 he created “Imprints,” described as the largest ceramic sculpture park in Scandinavia, at Fornebu outside Oslo.
- In 2017 the University of Agder named him one of its honorary doctors.
Art can matter financially, but reliable sales data is scarce. One secondary-market listing on Finn.no, an edition woodcut (14/100) in a silver frame, had an asking price of NOK 4,500 when last edited in January 2026. A single listing is not a valuation, but it shows that prints sit at a very different price point from stadium-scale touring income.
Honours and Roles Beyond Music
Furuholmen, along with his bandmates, was named a Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, according to Wikipedia. In 2016 the Norwegian government appointed him chair of the Bergen International Festival (Festspillene i Bergen) for 2016 to 2019. The same release lists his board seats at the Queen Sonja Print Award and Snøhetta Brand Design.
In April 2026 he was announced as a conference speaker at Tallinn Music Week, to discuss breaking out from Norway and running parallel careers in music and art.
Early Earnings: A Look Back
Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet reported in an older piece (undated in the version I accessed) that a-ha earned over NOK 100 million in their peak years. It also reported that through 1989, Waaktaar-Savoy received nearly NOK 8 million in royalties and Furuholmen NOK 3.8 million. This is band-level income across several people, not personal wealth, and it is not adjusted for inflation or taxes.
Why a Reliable Estimate Is Hard
Several things make a precise figure difficult:
- Income is split. Songwriting royalties go to the writers, while performance income is shared across the band and crew.
- Assets are private. Real estate, art holdings, catalogue ownership and any company stakes are not public.
- Business ventures are undocumented. I found no verified evidence of endorsement deals or investments.
- Websites copy each other. Many “net worth” pages repeat unsourced numbers that spread across the web.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Magne Furuholmen |
| Nickname | Mags |
| Born | 1 November 1962, Oslo, Norway |
| Age (October 2026) | 63 |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Occupation | Musician, composer, visual artist |
| Known for | Keyboardist and co-writer of a-ha (“Take On Me”) |
| Honour | Knight First Class, Order of St. Olav |
| Net worth (2026) | Not publicly confirmed |
| Only hard income data found | NOK 3,141,097 net income (2005 tax list) |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Magne Furuholmen’s net worth in 2026?
It is not publicly confirmed. I found no estimate from Forbes, Kapital or another established financial outlet. Unsourced sites give figures ranging from under USD 1 million to hundreds of millions, so none can be relied on.
How old is Magne Furuholmen?
He was born on 1 November 1962 and is 63 as of October 2026.
How did Magne Furuholmen make his money?
Mainly through a-ha’s songwriting, recording and touring, supplemented by his solo and collaborative music and his visual art career. The exact split is not public.
Is Magne Furuholmen also a painter?
He is a visual artist working in painting, prints and sculpture, including the 2016 “Imprints” ceramic sculpture park at Fornebu, per Wikipedia.
Is a-ha still together?
The band split in 2010 and reunited in 2015, later releasing True North in 2022 according to a biography page. I could not verify their plans for 2026.
Conclusion
The honest answer to “what is Magne Furuholmen worth?” is that nobody outside his inner circle knows. What is documented is a career that has lasted more than 40 years across pop, film themes and gallery art, plus public service roles in Norwegian culture. If a credible Forbes, Kapital or Norwegian tax-list figure appears, this page can be updated with it.
Sources & References
- Wikipedia, Magne Furuholmen
- IMDb, Magne Furuholmen biography
- Klikk.no, Norges best betalte musikere (2005 figures)
- Dagbladet, a-ha-millioner plassert i skatteparadis (undated)
- Regjeringen.no, Magne Furuholmen ny styreleder for Festspillene i Bergen (2 February 2016)
- Tallinn Music Week, Magne Furuholmen joins TMW 2026
- Apple TV, Magne Furuholmen profile
- The Local Norway, A-ha to tour five years after ‘farewell’ gig
- Shropshire Star, A-ha: Ending on a high note
- Yorkshire Post, A-ha interview
- Finn.no, Tresnitt by Magne Furuholmen (listing, edited 15 January 2026)
- Celebs Money, Magne Furuholmen net worth (unverified estimate)
- Lenin Imports, Magne Furuholmen biography (fan-merchandise site, used only for album and release details)
