Aatos Juho Michel Erkko (16 September 1932[1] – 5 May 2012[2]) was aFinnishnewspaper editor,newspaper publisher, and the main owner of theSanoma Corporation and the newspaperHelsingin Sanomat, of which he was also theeditor in chief.[3]
He was for many years the wealthiest person in Finland[4] and directly or indirectly controlled 23.29% of the Sanoma Corporation's shares,[5] whose value on 29 July 2009 was more than €453 million.[6]
Aatos Erkko was born inHelsinki. He married Jane Airola in 1959, but they did not have any children.[4]
His father was the politician and journalistEljas Erkko, who preceded him as editor in chief ofHelsingin Sanomat, and his mother was the English-born Eugenia Violet Sutcliffe.[3] Erkko's father was also theMinister of Foreign Affairs in 1938 and 1939,[7] as the Finns negotiated with the Soviet Union.
Erkko's grandfatherEero Erkko was also a journalist and politician, best remembered as the founder ofHelsingin Sanomat.
Erkko earned aMaster of Science degree in Journalism from theColumbia College of Columbia University.[3]
Sanoma made itsinitial public offering in 1999, during Aatos Erkko's time as chairman of the board.[8] Reporting news from around the world became increasingly important. Erkko founded Sanoma's own school for journalists in 1967, and Sanoma has foreign correspondents in many countries.[9]
Aatos Erkko was the largest single owner of Finland's largest media concern, holding just over 23% of theSanoma stock. As one of the key parts of Sanoma,Helsingin Sanomat is the largest newspaper by circulation in the entire Nordic region. The value of his assets was in 2012 estimated as of €600 million. Ca €300 million is in international securities managed by an investment company registered in Switzerland.[4]
Aatos Erkko once donated €2.9 million to the University of Helsinki for the establishment of a professorship.[10]
He also donated expensive equipment to theHelsinki University Central Hospital and gave significant financial support to theNuuksio National Park.
The Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation donated €415,000 for child disease diagnostics in 2011.[11]
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