Norway Hands Out $30K DUI Fine

A 22-year-old Norwegian student has been handed a $30,400 fine for drunken driving—but can still count herself lucky, reports the AP. Katharina G. Andresen is reportedly Norway's richest woman, with a fortune estimated by Forbes at $1.23 billion. Fines for drunken driving in Norway are based on the defendant's income. Newspaper Finansavisen reported that Oslo City Court said the penalty could have been up to $4.9 million if based on Andresen's assets, but they "have not yielded any dividend yet" and she has no fixed income. The court did increase the fine because of her estimated wealth, however.

"I thought I had waited long enough not to be over the limit anymore," Andresen told Finansavisen. "I am very sorry." She was pulled over at Easter on the way to her family's ski chalet, and found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.06—which the Guardian reports is three times the country's very strict limit. Andresen was also banned from driving for 13 months. Andresen's father gave her a 42% share in the family-owned investment company in 2007, leading Forbes to declare her the world's second-youngest billionaire.

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