Ömer Sabancı

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Ömer Sabancı (born 1959), a member of the Turkey’s second wealthiest family in third generation, is a billionaire businessman. He is the ex-chairman of the prestigious Turkish Businesspeople Association.

He was born 1959 in Adana as the first son of Hacı Sabancı (1935-1998), son of Hacı Ömer Sabancı (1906-1966), the founder of Turkey’s second largest industrial and financial conglomerate Sabancı Holding. After finishing the high school at Tarsus American College in Tarsus, province Mersin, he was educated in Economics at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware, United States.

Ömer Sabancı worked first in a number of family owned companies in Europe. Returned to Turkey, he was promoted to the top management in SaSA, and held this position 15 years long. In 2000, he initiated a joint venture with DuPont for polyester fabric production, and became president of the newly founded DupontSA. Recently, he is member of the board of directors of Sabancı Holding.

Ömer Sabancı was elected on January 22, 2004 chairman of the Turkish Businesspeople Association (TÜSİAD),where his term ended in January 2007. . He is also president of the European Association of Synthetic fibers Industrialists (CIRFS) headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

He has left his duties in the Sabanci Group, the family business, where he is still a major shareholder. He has started his own businesses. He has made partnerships with Demir Sabanci and Yalcin Sabanci. They have founded Doysa VIP Air,Inc. which is a private jet charter company. He also has interests in Odesa which has interests in the plastic business and electronic retailing (Electroworld Turkey). He has been listed as a billionaire businessman by the Forbes. The majority of his wealth comes from his stakes in the family company Sabanci Holding and its subsidiary, the largest private bank in Turkey, Akbank. He also has stakes in several subsidiaries of Sabanci Holding.

He married Arzu in 1986 and has three children; Haci Sabanci (1987), Hakan Sabanci (1991), and Kerim Sabanci (1996). Haci is currently studying business administration in Tufts University.

He is the elder brother of late Mehmet Sabancı (1963-2004) and Demet Çetindoğan.