Alfred Kordelin

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Alfred Kordelin (b. November 6, 1868, Rauma - d. November 7, 1917, Lammi) was a Finnish entrepreneur. Kordelin was one of the best-known Finnish entrepreneurs of his time.

Kordelin had little formal education. He was the son of a poor seaman from Rauma. Kordelin invested shrewdly in the fields of weaving, shipbuilding and metalworking, becoming one of Finland's richest men. Risto Ryti, who later became President of Finland, was Alfred Kordelin's legal advisor and close friend.

Kordelin owned the Mommila and Jokioinen manor houses and a steammill in Reposaari. He invested a large amount of money in different companies. He built a summerhouse in Naantali, called Kultaranta. Kultaranta is currently owned by the Government of Finland, and used as the President's summer residence. Kordelin himself spent only one summer at Kultaranta. On the 7th of November, 1917, a Russian cossack shot Kordelin dead in the so-called Mommila skirmish.

Kordelin had no wife or children so he bequeathed all his property to a Finnish cultural foundation. With his money the Alfred Kordelin Foundation was later founded. The foundation gives out several million euros in grants and awards annually in promotion of literature, science, art, and public education in Finland.