Ahlström was born on 7 November 1827, in
Merikarvia, to Erkki Ahlström och Anna Norrgård. He was a socially active citizen, representing the bourgeoisie of the Town of
Pori at the Diet of the Estates in 1877–1878 and in 1894. He was awarded the highly distinguished honorary title of Commercial Counsellor in 1881. Ahlström and his wife made considerable donations to public schools and to public education to further the national interest, and to the arts, for instance to the
Finnish National Theatre and the
Finnish National Opera. The Ahlströms were also patrons to several Finnish artists, including
Akseli Gallen-Kallela. Between 1866 and 1874, Ahlström's big business was shipping; he became the largest
shipowner in
Pori in 1871. It was in shipping that he earned the starting capital which he subsequently used to build his sawmill empire. The purchase of the manor and iron works in
Noormarkku in 1870 was a milestone in Ahlström's career: the purchase sealed his status as an important businessman and a 'lord of the manor'. One month after the deed of sale was signed, his wife Margaretha, whom he had married in December 1850, died of a sudden illness. In 1871, Antti Ahlström married again, this time to a woman 20 years his junior, Eva Holmström. Ahlström's business grew rapidly through major acquisitions, such as the iron works in
Kauttua,
Leineperi and
Strömfors and the sawmills in
Haminaholma,
Suursaari and
Tampere. , 1890 When Ahlström died on 10 May 1896, aged 68, in
Helsinki, he left behind 60,000 hectares of forest and a fortune estimated at 11.4 million
Finnish markkas, which was
Finland's largest at the time. Although difficult to estimate, this would likely be the equivalent of billions of
Euro today. ==See also==