Meanwhile Olli Riikkala, the former CEO of medical technology company Instrumentarium, had the country's highest income last year. Riikkala earned around 5.3 million euros. Instrumentarium, which makes eyewear and hospital equipment, was sold last year to General Electric. Riikkala is now Director of the IT services company TietoEnator.
Erkko, 63, who is the principle shareholder of SanomaWSOY, saw his taxable wealth increase by 16 million euros last year. SanomaWSOY owns Finland's biggest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat along with a multitude of other media outlets.
The second largest fortune was the estate of Per Hartwall, principle owner of the beverages company Hartwall, which is now owned by brewery giant Scottish and Newcastle. In third was Björn Wahlroos, CEO of the Sampo financial group.
These men have been at the top of the lists for many years, with only slight shifts in the rankings.
Average Income Nearly 30,000 Euros
Erkko also topped the list for capital gains, followed closely by Jussi Salonoja, 29. He is the scion of the HK meat packing firm, owner of the Espoo Blues hockey team and a film producer. Wahlroos is also third on this list.
The average monthly income in Finland last year was just under 2,500 euros a month, which translates into an annual income of almost 30,000 euros (USD 35,000).
The latest figures show that wage gaps have not significantly increased in Finland, but that the gaps in overall income have widened with the dramatic increase in capital gains.