Sakıp Sabancı

He was the second son of a cotton trader and worked in his father's business without completing high school. He was the head of Turkey's largest business conglomerate and 147th richest man on the Forbes list of billionaires in 2004.

He took over the family business with assistance from his brothers starting in the 1980s.

The Sabanci Group of Companies operates in eighteen different countries and markets its products internationally. Currently, Sabancı Holding controls more than 60 companies, in textiles, tourism, automotives, chemicals, tobacco, cement, insurance and banking. The group also has partnerships with the Hilton Group, Bridgestone, Du Pont, Philip Morris, Bekaert, Heidelberg Cement, IBM, BNP Paribas, Dresdner Bank, Carrefour and International Paper. Sabancı Holding and ten other companies within the group are listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. In 2011, the consolidated revenue of the company was $13.4 billion. The Sabanci family holds a 60.6% share of the firm.

Sakip Sabanci founded the Sabancı University in 1999. His collections of more than 320 Ottoman and Turkish paintings, statues and more than 400 examples of Ottoman calligraphy are exhibited at Atlı Köşk (The Equestrian Villa) at Bosporus in Emirgan, Istanbul, where he and his family lived for years, and which was converted into the Sakıp Sabancı Museum in 2002.

He died of kidney cancer at the age of 71 and received a state funeral.

Sabancı received honorary doctorates from following Turkish and American universities:

• 1984 Anadolu University, Eskişehir
• 1986 University of New Hampshire, New Hampshire, United States
• 1992 Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul
• 1993 Erciyes University, Kayseri
• 1997 Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul

Girne American University, Kyrenia, Cyprus

Trakya University, Edirne

Istanbul University, Istanbul

• 1998 Southeastern University, Washington D.C., United States
• 1999 Çukurova University, Adana
• 2002 Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale

He was awarded by various national and international institutions as listed below:

• 1979 "Golden Mercury Award" given to successful businessmen.
• 1987 Belgian "Ordre de Léopold II, Commander Class" by Belgian Prince Albert (now King Albert II of Belgium).
• 1992 Japanese "Order of the Sacred Treasure, Golden and Silver Star" from the Japanese Government.
• 1997 Turkish "State Medal of Distinguished Service" by the Turkish President Süleyman Demirel.[1]
• 1997 "European Chrystal World Award" from the European Institute for Economy in Zurich, Switzerland.
• 1999 "Businessman of the Year Award" by the FABSIT (Friends of American Board Schools in Turkey) Foundation in New York City, USA.
• 1999 Turkish "Grand Prize of Culture and Arts" from the Ministry of Culture of the Turkish Republic.
• 2001 Turkish "Industry Technology and Quality Award" by the GYTE (Gebze Institute for High Technology).
• 2001 French "Légion d'honneur" from President Jacques Chirac for his contributions to the Franco-Turkish relationships in culture and business.

He wrote books mostly on his experience in business life. Some of them are translated into English and Japanese language. The royalties from his books are being donated to Darülaceze (Almshouse) and Türkiye Spastik Çocuklar Vakfı (Turkey Foundation for Spastic Children).

1. İşte Hayatım (This is my life), 1985
2. Para Başarının Mükafatıdır (Money is the reward of success), 1985
3. This is my life (English) 1988
4. Gönül Galerimden (From the galleria of my heart), 1988
5. Rusya'dan Amerika'ya (From Russia to America), 1989
6. Ücret Pazarlığı mı ? - Koyun Pazarlığı mı ? (Is it wage bargain or sheep bargain ?), 1990
7. Değişen ve Gelişen Türkiye (Turkey, Changing and Developing), 1991
8. Daha Fazla İş Daha Fazla Aş (More work, more food), 1993
9. Doğu Anadolu Raporu (Eastern Anatolian report), 1995
10. Başarı Şimdi Aslanın Ağzında (Success is now in the lion's mouth), 1998
11. İşte Hayatım (Japanese), 2000
12. Hayat Bazen Tatlıdır (Life is sometimes sweet), 2001
13. Sakıpname (Dedicated to Sakıp), 2002
14. ...bıraktığım yerden Hayatım; (My life from where I left off), 445 pp, ISBN 975-293-181-2.
15. Her Şeyin Başı Sağlık; (Health first) 176 pp, ISBN 975-293-217-7.

• List of billionaires
• Adile Sultan Palace
• Sakip Sabanci, This is my life, 1985[2]
• The Sabanci Group In Brief [3]
• Official website (English) [4]
• Encyclopædia Britannica, Sakip Sabanci[5]

• Personal Website
• Sakıp Sabancı International Research Awards
• Sabancı Group of Companies
• Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People