Ilona Herlin – Billionaire

Ilona Herlin is a great-granddaughter of Finnish business legend Harald Herlin, who invested in Kone Elevators in 1924. After her father’s death in 2003, Ilona and her siblings Ilkka and Niklas discovered their father had rewritten the will in 1999 and left most of the ownership in Kone to their brother Antti. Angered that they had never been informed, the siblings battled for control. The dispute ended in 2005, with Kone being demerged. Antti maintained control over the core elevator business and received a majority stake in Kone, while the other siblings were given a majority stake in Cargotec, which produces machinery that handles heavy duty cargo for ships and ports, and a minority stake in Kone. Four of the five siblings are billionaires.

Ilona Herlin Net Worth: Ilona Herlin is a Finnish business woman and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $1.1 billion. Ilkka Herlin is an owner and shareholder of Cargotec Oy. She is the daughter of former KONE Corporation CEO Pekka Herlin. Herlin holds Doctor of Philosophy degree and works at the University of Helsinki. Ilona is the great granddaughter of Herald Herlin who purchased the Kone Corporation in 1924. Kone is a world leader in elevator and escalator production. In 2013 the company had $9.5 billion in sales. Ilona inherited just over 3% of Kone and 10% of Cargotec. Ilona and her siblings sued for a larger stake after finding out that the majority of the family’s ownership in Kone Corporation went to the oldest brother Antti who is the former CEO and current chairman. In 2005 the dispute was resolved with Antti maintaining control and an ownership stake in Kone while the other siblings would get a majority stake in Cargotec and a minority stake in Kone.

Source:

1. forbes

2. celebritynetworth