In 1962, A Man Left 780 Shares Of A Random Rubber Company Called "Nokia" To His Hometown – But The Shares Couldn't Be Sold…

The ripples from an act of kindness can spread on forever, long after you've walked away from the body of water. Every little thing we do can have a far larger effect than we anticipate. Nowhere is this more true than in the story of a Finnish man named Onni Nurmi.

Onni was born in 1885 in Savijoki, a rural district within the small municipality of Pukkila, Finland—current population: 1,700. He was raised by a single mother, who worked long hours on a farm and ran a tiny store in town to get by. Onni never knew his father, and when his mother died unexpectedly at age 49, he became a full orphan at just 13 years old.

Onni's future looked bleak. He grew up quiet and self-reliant. He spent some time working various jobs in Helsinki but returned to Pukkila in 1912 to open a store. Unfortunately, the store was a failure. In 1913, burdened by debts to dozens of local townsfolk, Onni left for America to work as a forester in Minnesota. He stayed for 15 years, eventually returning to Pukkila in 1928 with one mission: to repay every debt he owed. And that's what he did. Onni went door to door settling accounts (from 15 years earlier!!!) and reclaiming his good name.

Later in 1913, Onni moved permanently to Helsinki, where he worked as an apartment building manager and lived quietly for the rest of his life with a housekeeper and her daughter. He never married, never had children, and never sought attention. He visited Pukkila just twice more in his lifetime. Most of the town forgot about him.

So, you can imagine the town's surprise when, upon Onni Nurmi's death in 1962 at the age of 76, it was revealed that he had bequeathed all of his assets to Pukkila. Certainly a nice gesture—but how much could a retired building manager really leave behind?

Well, among those assets were 780 shares of stock in a relatively unremarkable Finnish textile and rubber company. Nurmi's will instructed that the shares be controlled by the town council for the exclusive benefit of local senior citizens.

At the time, the shares were worth about $30,000—roughly $320,000 in today's money. A generous and unexpected gift for Pukkila's elderly residents. Unfortunately, there was a catch: the town was never allowed to sell the shares.

At first, that seemed like a frustrating limitation. But over time, that catch turned out to be an extraordinary blessing. Because the company Nurmi invested in wasn't just any old Finnish manufacturer. It was… Nokia.

Onni Nurmi

The Origin of Nokia

Nokia began in 1865 as a pulp mill founded by mining engineer Fredrik Idestam near the town of Tampere, Finland. A few years later, Idestam opened a second mill along the Nokianvirta River in southern Finland. When he and business partner Leo Mechelin formalized their operations into a company in 1871, they named it Nokia Ab, after the river that powered their mill.

By the early 20th century, two additional industrial firms emerged in Finland that would eventually merge with Nokia: Suomen Gummitehdas Oy (Finnish Rubber Works), which manufactured rubber boots, tires, and other consumer goods, and Suomen Kaapelitehdas Oy (Finnish Cable Works), which produced electrical and telephone cables. For decades, these companies operated independently, but their fortunes became intertwined after World War I.

Faced with financial pressure and dependent on each other's outputs—Rubber Works needed electricity, Cable Works needed capital—the companies began consolidating operations. In 1922, Finnish Rubber Works acquired both Finnish Cable Works and Nokia Ab. Though legally distinct, they became closely aligned and eventually fully merged in 1967 to form the Nokia Corporation.

By the time Onni Nurmi died in 1962, Nokia was a diversified industrial giant. The company produced everything from paper products and galoshes to tires, televisions, military radio equipment, and chemicals. It was not yet known for cutting-edge technology, but that was about to change.

From Rubber To Mobile Phones

In the 1970s and 1980s, Nokia began a deliberate pivot toward electronics and telecommunications. The company had already been quietly supplying mobile radio technology to the military, and by the early '80s, it started exploring commercial opportunities in mobile communications. Nokia developed early digital switches, modems, and transport equipment, eventually rolling out its first handheld mobile phone in 1987.

The timing was perfect. As mobile phone networks spread across Europe and Asia in the early 1990s, Nokia surged ahead of older, slower rivals. By focusing on user-friendly handsets, durable design, and efficient manufacturing, Nokia became a global leader. From 1998 through 2012, Nokia was the largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. If you owned a cellphone in the late '90s or early 2000s, there's a good chance it had a Nokia logo on it.

But back when Onni Nurmi made his quiet little stock purchase in Helsinki? It was still just a rubber-and-paper company. The kind of company no one would ever expect to turn a tiny village of pensioners into multi-millionaires.

An Annoying Catch Turns Into A Major Blessing

As we mentioned earlier, when Onni Nurmi died in 1962, he owned 780 shares of Nokia. And in 1962, those shares were worth about $30,000, roughly $320,000 in today's dollars—a meaningful gift, but not a life-changing one. And thanks to a clause in his will, the town couldn't sell the shares. Ever.

That restriction initially seemed like a limitation. After all, selling the stock could have funded new equipment, upgraded facilities, or added staff to Pukkila's small senior center. But the terms of Nurmi's bequest were explicit: the shares were to be held in perpetuity, and only the dividend income could be used for the recreation of the town's elderly.

For years, the town quietly honored those terms. And as Nokia's stock began its climb in the 1980s and 1990s, those once-humble shares grew dramatically in value. After multiple stock splits and corporate reorganizations, Pukkila's original 780 shares ballooned into hundreds of thousands of shares. By the late 1990s, Nokia was one of the hottest companies on earth. Its market cap soared. Its phones were everywhere. And the Pukkila stake was suddenly worth tens of millions of dollars.

At the height of Nokia's boom, the town's holdings were estimated to be worth as much as $90 million. On paper, that made the residents of Pukkila's small nursing home—fewer than two dozen people—some of the wealthiest seniors in Finland.

But the town still couldn't touch the principal. And as Nokia's value skyrocketed, some residents and local officials began to wonder if it was time to revise Nurmi's will. In 1997, the town council proposed selling a portion of the shares to diversify the portfolio and protect against future volatility. Not everyone agreed. A group of townspeople pushed back, arguing that selling even part of the shares would violate Nurmi's final wishes. Another contingent wanted to sell the shares and give everyone in the town a 12-year break from paying taxes.

The debates dragged on for several years, eventually ending up in court. Ironically, the delay worked in the town's favor: Nokia's stock kept climbing. By the time the legal wrangling was resolved, the shares were worth even more.

Eventually, the courts approved a compromise. The town would be allowed to sell a portion of the Nokia stock and invest the proceeds into a diversified fund, but only if the original intent of the bequest was honored. And that's exactly what happened.

A foundation was created to manage the funds, and the income would continue to support programs, services, and facilities for Pukkila's elderly.

The Onni Welfare Center

Once the legal dust settled and the town was allowed to diversify part of its Nokia fortune, Pukkila began planning something big—something that would not only honor Onni Nurmi's wishes, but also transform life for generations of elderly residents.

The town used the proceeds to design and build a state-of-the-art senior care facility. Completed in 2008, the "Onni Hyvinvointikeskus" – English translation "Onni Welfare Center" became the crown jewel of the village.

And it isn't just a nursing home. It's a modern, multi-functional wellness hub with everything from rehabilitation services to communal gathering spaces. For a town of fewer than 2,000 people, it was practically unimaginable.

The Onni Welfare Center

The facility includes sheltered housing for seniors, group homes for residents with memory disorders, a full health center, a pharmacy, a swimming pool, a gym, a library, a post office, and even a café that serves both residents and visitors. There's a beautiful indoor atrium with a Japanese garden. There's a sauna, of course—this is Finland. In every way, it was built to foster well-being, dignity, and community.

And it wasn't just for the elderly. The design of the Onni Welfare Center intentionally brought together people of all ages. The pool, café, and fitness areas were made open to the broader public. Children could come to swim. Families could meet for coffee. Younger locals could stop by for a workout. It became a gathering place for the entire village.

Best of all, the facility was entirely funded by Nurmi's bequest—not just the construction, but the ongoing operation. The foundation established to manage the funds ensured that interest and investment income would continue to cover costs for decades. Even as Nokia's stock fell in later years, the money had already been secured and diversified, preserving the value of Nurmi's gift.

Today, the Onni Welfare Center, located on Onnie Road ("Onnintie," in Finnish), stands as a physical monument to one man's foresight and generosity. Every exercise class, every music session, every moment of comfort and dignity experienced by Pukkila's seniors can be traced back to a building manager who quietly bought some stock in a local company—and never forgot where he came from.

A Ripple That Never Stopped

When Onni Nurmi left 780 shares of Nokia to his tiny hometown in 1962, no one could have predicted what would happen. It wasn't a flashy donation. He didn't attach his name to a building or make any big declarations. He simply asked that the dividends be used to brighten the lives of the town's elderly, and that the shares themselves never be sold.

At the time, it might have seemed like a well-intentioned but limited gesture. But Nurmi's gift grew quietly and steadily. Then, over time, it became something extraordinary. It turned a modest act of kindness into a multimillion-dollar windfall that reshaped Pukkila forever.

Thanks to the way the town managed that gift, Nurmi's original intent wasn't just preserved. It was amplified. His shares built a legacy of care that will last for generations. They funded a wellness center that does far more than provide shelter. It fosters community, dignity, and joy for the people who live there and for everyone who walks through its doors.

And it all started with a man most residents had never met. A man who never returned to his hometown. A man whose name, fittingly, was Onni—the Finnish word for "luck" or "happiness." In the end, his gift was both.