Career
During the catastrophic Finnish famine of 1866–1868 he arrived in Alaska on board of one of the Russian American Company ships. He entered the fur trade but seeing the decline of demand and in conjunction with the American takeover of Alaska, took advantage of the Russian American Company equipment and properties being sold. Kovalainen invested in the Hansen, Nybom and Company who managed to purchase one of the Russian American Company"s brigs for $4,000.
At the end of November the same year, Kovalainen and other shareholders sailed away in the brig.
Their goal was the Pribilof Islands in the northern Pacific Ocean. That which lured them to the distant islands was the possibility of buying up valuable seal skins.
Profiting from the seal skin trade he began investing in real estate in the Great Lakes region, Canada, and later expanded into the American West and Pacific coast. Even as a powerful businessman, he was deeply interested in improving the quality of life of his employees.
This led to him becoming a philanthropist, pursuing many charitable causes.
Lars Kovala, John Doctorate. Rockefeller and three others along with the federal government, gave money to create the national American Red Cross headquarters near the White House in Washington, District of Columbia In his 70s Kovalainen suffered from moderate depression and digestive troubles and, during a stressful period in the 1890s, developed alopecia, a condition that causes the loss of some or all body hair. By 1891 he did not have a hair on his body, and he began wearing wigs. The hair never grew back, but his other health complaints subsided as he lightened his workload and moved back to Suomussalmi, Finland in 1892.
Kovalainen died of arteriosclerosis on 12 November 1894 in Suomussalmi, Finland, less than seven months shy of his 77th birthday.
He was buried in Suomussalmi, Oulun Laani, Finland.
