Unbelievable grit: This poor farm boy's part-time hobby triggered a jaw dropping toy empire now valued at $10 billion
Although he suffered many hardships, his fierce determination pushed him forward to create one of the most iconic children's toy the world had ever seen
Travel websites call it a “charming village where visitors can sense a rich history and a promising future.”
Located in the western part of Denmark, the village of Filskov sits just south of the Omme River, surrounded by a landscape of heathlands, forests, and bogs.
It’s a rather small village, with a current population of 706 (as of January 2024.) But it has a deep history … one that stretches back centuries.
In fact archaeological evidence, like ancient burial mounds, points to settlement as far back as the Iron Age. Its name is most likely derived from "Fællesskov" (common forest) or related to oak woods, which also suggests origins in the medieval Valdemar era. That era took place in the 12th to 14th century when Denmark was ruled by a series of kings named Valdemar including Valdemar I the Great, Valdemar II the Victorious, Valdemar III, and Valdemar IV Atterdag.
If you travel here, there’s not much to do or see except a few museums, hiking the surrounding hills, visiting the grand train station, and the town’s historic church, which was built in 1877 based on drawings by the architect L.A.Winstrup.
While Filskov might not offer much in the way of tourism, this village was home to a man who invented an iconic children’s toy that has been around for over 92 years. Today it is considered one of the most popular and valuable toy brands in existence.
And if you have children or grandchildren, there’s no doubt this toy has been in your house or you’ve given it as a gift.
While kids love it, it also happens to be one of the messiest toys to clean up. That’s because pieces seem to find their way everywhere from under chairs and sofas to corners of rooms and closets.
Whittle Some Wood While You Work
Farming in late 19th-century Denmark typically involved cultivating crops and raising livestock, a labor-intensive livelihood that provided little financial security. But that is all that Ole Kirk Christiansen’s father, Jen Niels Christiansen knew how to do.
Ole Kirk Christiansen, who was born on April 7, 1891 in Filskov was the tenth of thirteen children in an exceedingly poor farming family.
It’s also something he taught his children to do because Ole started working on the family farm at the age of six years old.
If there’s one lesson that Ole took from living in such harsh times is the value of hard work. He saw his father get up every morning, tend to the livestock and fields, and did so without much complaining.
After all this was their life, and with little formal education, farming was just about the only option available for the Christiansens.
When Ole wasn’t working on family chores, he spent his spare time on one of his favorite hobbies … whittling wood. He crafted all sorts of things from the many pieces of wood he found around the farm. And because of that keenness for woodcrafting, Ole got somewhat of a lucky break.
At the age of 14, he began an apprenticeship at Haslev Technical School to become a carpenter. This is where he, along with his brother Kristian Bonde Christiansen mastered woodworking skills.
Just a few years after completing his apprenticeship, Ole traveled to Germany likely drawn by the country’s robust industrial and construction sectors. There, he worked as a journeyman carpenter, a stage in the traditional guild system where young craftsmen refined their skills under experienced masters.
His work involved crafting wooden furniture, building components like doors and window frames, and possibly assisting in construction projects. And the tools he used were manual like saws, chisels, and planes to shape wood, and crafting items with a focus on durability and function.
Ole spent several years in Germany, though exact dates are imprecise. But we also know that he traveled to Norway as well. Norway’s timber-rich environment and strong tradition of wooden architecture—think stave churches and rustic homes—would have provided a practical setting for Ole to deepen his expertise in wood.
He probably worked on building interiors, crafting household goods, or even contributing to small-scale construction, depending on local demand. This stint abroad was relatively short, and by 1911, Ole was back in Denmark.
But he returned with enough money to open his own woodworking shop in Billund, which was not far from the village where he was born. Initially his business focused on crafting furniture, household items, and occasionally buildings.
One Bad Thing Leads to Another
His business was doing well, so in 1916 he married his sweet heart Kirstine Sørensen, and together they had four sons: Johannes, Karl Georg, Godtfred, and Gerhardt.
But life wasn’t always kind to Ole. In fact his wife died while giving birth to their fourth child.
He was now a widower, raising four children on his own. And to make matters worse, tragedy struck again in 1924 when a fire, accidentally started by two of his sons playing with wood shavings, destroyed his workshop and home.
Ole had no choice but to rebuild. Where else could he go with four children? They needed a home and needed one sooner rather than later. And since he knew how to build things, Ole built the home himself.
He also rebuilt his workshop in order to start making money again. It seems like things were finally working in Ole’s favor …that is until The Great Depression took place in 1929.
Like most countries, it hit Denmark rather hard. You see at the time Denmark relied heavily on agriculture, with about 40% of its workforce engaged in farming. Key exports included butter, bacon, eggs, and other dairy and meat products, primarily to Britain and Germany.
When the Depression hit, global demand for Danish exports plummeted. Britain, Denmark’s largest trading partner, imposed tariffs and reduced imports, while Germany’s economic collapse further shrank markets.
Between 1929 and 1933, Danish export values dropped by roughly 40%, with agricultural prices falling even more steeply—some estimates suggest a decline of 50–60% for goods like pork and butter.
Farmers had no source of income, which created a domino effect among Danish citizens. Businesses supported by farming such as small markets and grocery stores, also suffered.
Denmark’s unemployed spiked to around 15-20%. If people were struggling to “make ends meet,” they certainly couldn’t afford to buy the wooden products that Ole crafted by hand.
And so his business began a downward spiral. Times were tough. He barely making enough money to feed his children. But Ole kind of stumbled upon a new way to make money. He found that when he made small objects like step ladders, ironing boards and other similar household items, sales picked up.
Yet of all the things he made, his best selling item was little, tiny toy furniture.
To his surprise, the toy items were well received. So he started making more toys, which grew in popularity. And that meant more income for his business.
Seems Ole found is calling as a toy maker.
All in The Family
With this newly found niche, in 1932 Ole officially opened his new toy company, which he named using a contraction of the Danish words leg and godt, meaning "play well.” We know his company as LEGO. (Coincidentally, it also means "I put together" in Latin, though this was unintentional.)
And his son Gottfried joined him in the family business. Together they started designing new toys such as cars, trucks, airplanes and boats. The toys were made out of the best birchwood available, then painted and finished to the highest standards.
But when you work with wood, there’s always the chance of fire. And once again fire broke out and burned his shop to the ground.
Yet Ole wasn’t about to give up on his new found fortune. He had already rebuilt once, so why not do it again? And within a few months, his shop was back in business.
Ole was determined for his business to be a huge success. He made sure that all of toys made in the shop were of the highest quality. In fact, the father and son duo had a big sign in the carpentry shop that read “Only the Best is Good Enough.”
His new toy business even survived WWII. That’s also right around the time plastic was becoming more and more popular. Businesses were find that it was cheaper to make things from plastic than other organic materials.
And so things such as combs, brushes, containers, buttons, toothbrushes, trash cans, hangers, storage containers … were all now made form plastic.
Even toys were made of plastic. Knowing how expensive wood was to craft toys, Ole had a hunch that he could make toys that met his high standards from plastic. If so, that could reduce not only his raw material costs but also the risk of fire.
Plus, as an added benefit, the toys themself would last longer than wood … like years and years longer.
So in 1947 Ole bought an injection-molding machine at a toy fair so he could begin making plastic toys. It was an expensive machine, but Ole believed it would be worth the risk in order to keep making his already well-known brand of beautiful toys.
His business was the resounding success he dreamed would happen. Eventually all of his sons helped stepped into the business. Godtfred was the managing director and later President of the company, Karl was the director of plastic production, and Gerhardt was the director of wood products manufacturing.
Put It Together Yourself
Success can be a fleeting thing, which means you have to up your game by staying ahead of the competition.
Ole realized that almost all of children’s toys on the market were made of plastic. If everything is made from the same thing, how do you set your brand apart? That notion was now stuck in Ole’s head … how to make his toys different.
And that’s when he remembered back in 1947 when he bought his injection molding machine that a British company was making little plastic toy bricks. That’s when Ole got his “one good idea” … he would do the same thing but instead of loose bricks, his could lock together.
With the help of his sons, Ole began experimenting with different shapes of bricks and different ways they locked together. Once they perfected the prototype, in 1949 LEGO launched “Automatic Binding Bricks” to the world.
The bricks came in sets of various sizes, typically in red and white, with basic shapes like 2x2 and 2x4 bricks, and were marketed as a creative building toy. The first sets also included some plastic windows and doors.
Yet the bricks weren’t an instant success. In fact Ole’s son Godtfred Kirk Christiansen later recalled in an interview that retailers were skeptical, with some saying, “No one will ever buy plastic toys,” reflecting a cultural preference for traditional materials.
Marketing these new locking bricks was challenging because they were pitched as a “system of play,” but the concept of interlocking bricks was new, and instructions were minimal, leaving kids and parents unsure how to use them creatively.
Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, who was increasingly involved in the business, saw the problems and began working to refine the design over the next decade. He changed how the bricks locked together, which made them much sturdier. He also added more set variety, like the "Town Plan,” which included baseplates and accessories.
Sales began to slowly pick up.
But the company’s real moment came in 1954 when a deal with a German distributor was made. This marked LEGO’s first international breakthrough. By 1960 LEGO was selling enough bricks to phase out wooden toys entirely, suggesting the Automatic Binding Bricks had gained traction.
In 1962, the company introduced the wheel (Set 400) that let kids build functional vehicles, while new elements like sloped bricks, plates, and hinges broadened architectural possibilities.
By 1965, LEGO was in 42 countries, with the U.S. market opening via a Samsonite licensing deal in 1961.
The 1968 opening of LEGOLAND Billund, Denmark’s first theme park, turned LEGO into a cultural experience, not just a toy. It drew 625,000 visitors in its first year, cementing brand loyalty.
Meanwhile, LEGO introduced themed sets—Space in 1979, Castle in 1978, and Town in 1978—shifting from generic building to narrative-driven play, which broadened its audience and boosted sales.
Keep On Moving On
By the 1990s, LEGO was a household name, but it faced competition as video games rose. But the family found a way to tie in their bricks with games and videos.
They struck a deal to create the 1999 Star Wars sets, which was tied to The Phantom Menace. The sales were “out of this world,” selling 50 million sets. The sets have since been retired.
Then there were licensed themes deals (Harry Potter, Marvel, etc.) which tapped pop culture, driving sales from 6.3 billion bricks produced in 1997 to over 28 billion by 2007.
The 2014 LEGO Movie was a masterstroke, grossing $469 million and reinforcing LEGO as a creative, humorous brand.
Today, LEGO is a household name. In 2024, The LEGO Group generated a global revenue of approximately 74.3 billion Danish kroner (DKK), which is roughly $10.85 billion in U.S. dollars.
The company estimates that it has produced over 400 billion LEGO bricks and over 4 billion minifigures, meaning there are roughly 50 bricks for every person on Earth.
LEGO products are sold in 130 different countries, and there are over 900 LEGO Stores worldwide. If all bricks sold this year were wrapped end to end, they would wrap around the earth 5 times.
Ole Kirk Christiansen died in 1958 so he never got to experience the great success of his company. He is buried in the Billund Cemetery, which is where the first LEGO factory was established.
While Ole experienced hardships in his life from losing his wife, his shops burning down several times, he never stopped moving forward. It seems perseverance was second nature to him. And sometimes that’s all you need to not ever give up.
Amazing Quotes by Amazing People
“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” - Vince Lombardi
Got my first box of Lego in 1968 at age 10. Can remember my joy and excitement like it was yesterday. Played with those blocks for hours and hours. Thanks for a trip down memory lane, Sandy!