Haraldur Ingi Þorleifsson
Þorleifsson (born 1977) is an Icelandic entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist, and musician. The founder of the company Ueno and the 2019 Icelandic businessman of the year, he sold his company to Twitter in 2021, then worked for Twitter until 2023.
Also recorded as Haraldur Thorleifsson · Halli Thorleifsson · Haraldur Þorleifsson · Önnu Jónu Son
Haraldur Ingi Þorleifsson
- Name
- Haraldur Ingi Þorleifsson
- Born
- 1977
- Occupation
- * Entrepreneur
- Known for
- Ueno
- Nationality
- Iceland
- Education
- University of Iceland
- Honours
- Knights of the Order of the Falcon
- Languages
- English · Icelandic
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Documentary summary
Þorleifsson (born 1977) is an Icelandic entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist, and musician. The founder of the company Ueno and the 2019 Icelandic businessman of the year, he sold his company to Twitter in 2021, then worked for Twitter until 2023.
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Note VALÉORINE
Haraldur Ingi Þorleifsson (born 1977) is an Icelandic businessperson and designer. The businessperson was born in Reykjavík.
Haraldur Ingi Þorleifsson studied at University of Iceland. The businessperson worked for Twitter and Ueno.
Languages used include English and Icelandic. Haraldur Ingi Þorleifsson received Knights of the Order of the Falcon.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q110975592 · wikipedia · Haraldur Ingi Þorleifsson
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Haraldur Ingi Þorleifsson • Born — 1977 • Other Names — Halli Thorleifsson Önnu Jónu Son • Occupation — * Entrepreneur • businessman • philanthropist • musician • Alma Mater — University of Iceland • Known for — Ueno • Website — haraldurthorleifsson.com Haraldur Ingi "Halli" Þorleifsson (born 1977) is an Icelandic entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist, and musician. The founder of the company Ueno and the 2019 Icelandic businessman of the year, he sold his company to Twitter in 2021, then worked for Twitter until 2023.
Early life
Early life
Haraldur was born with a genetic muscular dystrophy disease known as dysferlinopathy that forced him to use a wheelchair at the age of 25. His parents were Þorleifur Gunnlaugsson and Anna Jóna Jónsdóttir. In 1988, his mother was killed and his stepfather, actor Jóhann Sigurðarson, was seriously injured in a car accident caused by a drunk driver.
Business career
Business career
In 2014, Haraldur founded the creative technology services company Ueno. In 2019, he was named the Icelandic businessman of the year by the Icelandic Association of Business and Economists. In early 2021, Haraldur sold Ueno to Twitter. In the agreement between Twitter and Haraldur, most of the purchase price was paid as salary to maximize the tax he would pay for the sale in Iceland. Haraldur stated that he chose to pay for tax to support the school, health and welfare systems that helped him and other people from low-income families to prosper. As per the agreement, he paid the second highest tax of an individual in Iceland in 2021. In March 2021, Haraldur helped launch a project called Ramp Up Reykjavík, a collaborative venture undertaken by local businesses, labour unions, government ministries, associations, banks, and city officials with the intention of helping local businesses install wheelchair ramps to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. After the project's success, a new project called Ramp Up Iceland was started with the intention of building 1,000 ramps around Iceland. After quickly building 300 ramps, the goal was raised, in November 2022, to 1,500 ramps by 2026. In December 2022, he was named the Icelandic Person of the Year by RÚV, the Icelandic national broadcaster, as well as Morgunblaðið, and Vísir.is. In February 2023, despite being on a "do not fire" list, Haraldur's employment with Twitter was allegedly terminated after an additional round of layoffs, although he received no confirmation. Following an interaction with Elon Musk on Twitter in March 2023, where Musk "trolled" him, Haraldur received confirmation from Twitter's human resources department that his employment had indeed been terminated. Following Musk's tweet alleging that Haraldur did no real work at Twitter and was using his disability as an excuse, Haraldur responded in a series of tweets covering his medical condition while criticizing Musk. Musk later apologized for his "misunderstanding of his situation" after a video call with Haraldur, and claimed that Haraldur was considering remaining at Twitter. In April 2023, Haraldur confirmed that he had left Twitter.
Music career
Music career
In November 2022, under the stage name Önnu Jónu Son, Haraldur performed the opening gig at the Iceland Airwaves music festival. On 9 March 2023, he released his first song and music video Almost over you from the upcoming album The Radio Won't Let Me Sleep.
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the headings Haraldur Thorleifsson, Halli Thorleifsson, Haraldur Þorleifsson and Önnu Jónu Son. His recorded languages were English and Icelandic. He was the child of Þorleifur Gunnlaugsson.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1977
Haraldur Ingi Þorleifsson was born on 2 August 1977.
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ætlar aldrei að verða forstjóri aftur. RÚV. 11 March 2021.
- 2.Viðskiptafræðingur ársins. Viðskiptablaðið. 13 April 2019.
- 3.Sharma, Shweta. Musk involved in bizarre Twitter exchange with 'ghosted' worker. The Independent. 2023-03-07.
- 4.Haraldur Thorleifsson. haraldurthorleifsson.com.
- 5.Horfði á þrepið fyrir utan búðina. Morgunblaðið. 11 March 2021.
- 6.RÚV. Harmur milljarðamæringsins. Kveikur. 4 October 2022.
- 7.Innra vegakerfi tilfinninganna. Vísir.is. 29 September 2012.
- 8.Fontaine, Andie Sophia. The Equaliser: Haraldur Þorleifsson On Power, Misinformation, And Leveling The Playing Field. The Reykjavik Grapevine. 3 June 2022.
- 9.Drukkinn á stolnum bíl olli banaslysi. Dagblaðið Vísir. 5. 14 June 1988.
- 10.Stærsta sorg sem ég hef lent í. Vísir.is. 18 February 2022.
- 11.Óvenjuleg saga Ueno og Haraldar. Viðskiptablaðið. 15 April 2019.
- 12.Twitter acqui-hires creative agency Ueno to help design new products. TechCrunch. 6 January 2021.
- 13.Seldi fyrirtækið sitt til Twitter og ætlar að greiða alla skatta af sölunni á Íslandi. Kjarninn. 30 January 2021.
- 14.Stóð við sitt og hefur greitt um hálfan milljarð í skatta. Vísir.is. 25 May 2022.
- 15.Segir Elon Musk hafa hlegið að sér og spyr hvort hann muni ekki borga samkvæmt samningi. Heimildin. 7 March 2023.
- 16.Haraldur einn af skattakóngum Íslands. Fréttablaðið. 18 August 2022.
- 17.Annual List of Highest Tax Payers in Iceland Published. Iceland Review. 23 August 2022.
- 18.Reykjavík Ramps Up. Iceland Review. 6 November 2021.
- 19.Setur upp 100 rampa og opnar kaffihús. Viðskiptablaðið. 10 March 2021.
- 20.Ætla að rampa upp Ísland með eitt þúsund römpum. Vísir.is. 20 September 2021.
- 21.Pomrenke, Erik. President Raises Goal to 1,500 Ramps. Iceland Review. 23 November 2022.
- 22.Pomrenke, Erik. Haraldur Þorleifsson Sweeps Person of the Year Awards. Iceland Review. 2 January 2023.
- 23.Haraldur Þorleifsson er manneskja ársins. RÚV. 30 December 2022.
- 24.4 senior Twitter managers were previously on a 'do not fire' list, but they were fired anyway, report says. Insider. 28 February 2023.
- 25.James Clayton. Have I been fired? worker asks chief executive Elon Musk on Twitter. BBC News. 7 March 2023.
- 26.Loh, Matthew. Elon Musk publicly trolled a Twitter employee who wanted to know if they still had their job: 'What work have you been doing?'. Business Insider. 7 March 2023.
- 27.Musk öskuillur út í Harald eftir Twitter-færslur um brottreksturinn. RÚV. 7 March 2023.
- 28.Haraldur tekur Musk til bæna og vill vita hvort hann ætli að borga honum. RÚV. 7 March 2023.
- 29.Musk, Elon. I would like to apologize to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation. It was based on things I was told that were untrue or, in some cases, true, but not meaningful. He is considering remaining at Twitter. 1633253950198624257.
- 30.Musk biður Harald afsökunar. Vísir.is. 8 March 2023.
- 31.Haraldur hættur hjá Twitter. Morgunblaðið. 29 April 2023.
- 32.Airwaves 2022: Pre-Opening Night Review. Reykjavík Grapevine. 3 November 2022.
- 33.Haraldur gefur út tónlistarmyndband. Vísir.is. 9 March 2023.
- 34.Grapevine New Music Picks: Worm Is Green, Önnu Jónu Son, KÁRI & More. Reykjavík Grapevine. 10 March 2023.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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