Murat Ülker tops Forbes’ Turkey’s richest list


Turkish businessman Murat Ülker stood at the top of 100 Richest Turks list according to data released by Forbes magazine on Monday.Ülker, who chairs one of the world's largest food industries under the Ülker brand, was announced to have a net worth of $2.9 billion (TL 8.59 billion), decreasing from $4.4 billion in 2015. Ülker stood 601st in the global ranking, falling from 369th place in 2015.The business magazine said the losses were mainly due to exchange difference and his firms' losses on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. These reasons were also behind the loss of total wealth among Turkey's 100 richest, according to the magazine.Hüsnü Özyeğin, chairman of FIBA Holding which mainly focused on the finance sector with various other ventures, followed Ülker with a net worth of $2.6 billion, down from $2.7 billion in 2015.Ferit Şahenk, chairman of Doğuş Holding which made investments in construction, media and automotive, ranked third with a net worth of $2.4 billion.Rahmi Koç and Semahat Arsel, members of the Koç family that control the country's largest conglomerate, placed fourth and fifth respectively with net worths of $2.4 and $2.2 billion.A total of 114 people were included in this year's list, with an average net worth of $821 million, which decreased from $863 million in 2015. The total wealth of the people included in the list was $94.7 billion, down from $100.4 billion in 2015.31 people from the list are also part of Forbes' The World's Billionaires list. 18 new names were included this year.The magazine calculates a person's fortune through his/her shares in companies and cash money, real estate and artworks.In recent years, Ülker's company has grown through the acquisitions of international firms.Many Turkish people in the list have investments in the real estate and energy sectors.There are 21 women in the richest person list, with the wealthiest being Arsel from Koç Holding."This year was very interesting. We see significant decreases, increases and new names. Overall, it was very mixed," Burçak Güven, Forbes' Turkey editor-in-chief said.There are also new billionaires on the list.Mustafa Küçük, the shareholder of LC Waikiki, a ready-to-wear clothing firm in Turkey, has a $2.2 billion fortune.The 31 billionaires in the 'richest 100 Turks' by Forbes and annual changes in their net worths are as follows:1) Murat Ülker - Yıldız Holding - $2.9bln - $4.4bln2) Hüsnü Özyeğin - Fiba Holding - $2.6bln - $2.7bln3) Ferit Şahenk - Doğuş Holding - $2.4bln - $2.5bln4) Semahat Arsel - Koç Holding - $2.2bln - $2.6bln5) Erman Ilıcak - Rönesans Holding - $2bln - $2.2bln6) Mustafa Küçük - LC Waikiki - $2bln - $450mln7) Rahmi Koç - Koç Holding - $2bln - $2.5bln8) Şarık Tara - Enka Construction - $2bln - $2.4bln9) Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani Yoghurt - $1.8bln - $1.35bln10) Suna Kıraç - Koç Holding - $1.8bln - $2.2bln11) Filiz Şahenk - Doğuş Holding - $1.5bln - $2.2bln12) Bülent Eczacıbaşı - Eczacıbaşı Holding - $1.4bln - $1.45bln13) Faruk Eczacıbaşı - Eczacıbaşı Holding - $1.4bln - $1.4bln14) Ahmet Çalık - Çalık Holding - $1.3bln - $1.4bln15) Ahmet Nazif Zorlu - Zorlu Holding $1.3bln - $1.4bln16) Mehmet Ali Aydınlar - Acıbadem - $1.3bln - $1.3bln17) Nihat Özdemir - Limak Holding - $1.3bln - $900mln18) Sezai Bacaksız - Limak Holding - $1.3bln - $900mln19) Turgay Ciner - Park Holding - $1.3bln - $1.25bln20) Ali Ağaoğlu - Ağaoğlu Construction - $1.2bln - $1.75bln21) Şefik Yılmaz Dizdar - LC Waikiki - $1.2bln22) Mehmet Nazif Günal - MNG Holding - $1.1bln - $1.2bln23) Mustafa Latif Topbaş - Bim Supermarkets - $1.1bln - $1.35bln24) Suat Günsel - Near East University - $1.1bln - $1.1bln25) Deniz Şahenk - Doğuş Holding - $1.0bln - $1.25bln26) Fatma Tuba Yazıcı - Diler Holding - $1.1bln - $1.1bln27) Hamdi Akın - Akfen Holding - $1.1bln - $500mln28) Mehmet Rüştü Başaran - Habaş Steel - $1bln - $1.2bln29) Murat Vargı - MV Holding - $1bln - $1bln30) Sinan Tara - Enka Construction - $1.0bln - $1.2bln31) Şevket Sabancı - Esas Holding - $1.0bln - $1.05bln