The current Chairman of Kone, Antti Herlin, is the richest man in Finland, with an estimated net worth, according to Forbes, of $4.7 billion. He was formerly the company’s CEO between 1996 and 2006. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Pekka, who had taken over from his own father, Heikki, in 1964. It was through Heikki that the company experienced its most significant early growth after he inherited his father’s position as manager of the lift maker in 1932. After WWII, he soon began exports with countries that neighboured Finland, including the then Soviet Union, although this was initially part of Finland’s war reparations agreed to in the Moscow Armistice signed in September 1944. Heikki was known for his broad language skills that enabled him to develop Kone into a truly international brand. Today, the Herlin family name remains at the heart of the company, with members of the fourth generation playing significant roles in the company’s board of directors. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, however. After it was discovered that Pekka Herlin had re-written his will in 1999, four years before his death in 2003, bequeathing the majority of the company to his eldest son Antti, a dispute followed. As a result, the company was split in two between the four siblings. Antti maintained a majority stake in the original company, while the other siblings were handed control of the new company, Cargotec, a producer of heavy-duty cargo ship machinery. All four became billionaires.
