Sabancı family
The Sabancı family is one of the wealthiest business dynasties in Turkey. The family's prominence began with Hacı Ömer Sabancı, who moved from his native Kayseri to Adana in the early 1920s. Initially working as a laborer in cotton plantations, Sabancı transitioned into establishing his own cotton trading and textile businesses by the 1930s.
In the following decades, Hacı Ömer's sons, particularly Sakıp Sabancı, along with Hacı Sabancı, Şevket Sabancı, Erol Sabancı, and Özdemir Sabancı, expanded the family's investments into new sectors. In 1967, they established Sabancı Holding, to control various different companies they built over the years including Akbank, one of the largest banks of Turkey. Over the years Sabancı Holding formed many joint ventures with some of the leading global companies such as Toyota, Philip Morris, Bridgestone, DuPont, and Carrefour.[1]
Today the third generation of the family controls the group. After Sakıp Sabancı's death in 2004, his nephew, Güler Sabancı, was chosen to lead the holding. In 2025 she relinquished her position to Hayri Çulhacı, the first non-family member to hold the title of chairman of the board.[2]
After Sakıp Sabancı's death in 2004, some second and third generation members of the family, have left their managerial positions and established their own businesses. Şevket Sabancı's line built London–Istanbul based Esas Holding a multi-billion dollar investment firm which owns Pegasus Airlines, one of Turkey's largest shopping mall business and various investments in private equity and real estate globally.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "Sakip Sabanci, 71, Businessman". The New York Times. 13 April 2004. p. 15. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
- ^ "Sabancı Investor Relations".
- ^ "Güler Sabancı dönemi". Radikal (in Turkish). 19 May 2004. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2013.