Murat Ülker has retained his title as Turkey’s richest person for the ninth time, with a net worth of $5.5 billion, according to Forbes’ 2025 list of the world’s billionaires, which includes 35 people from Turkey.
The US-based business magazine released its annual billionaire rankings this week, revealing a record 3,028 billionaires worldwide with a combined net worth of $14.2 trillion. The list includes 902 individuals from the United States, 516 from China (including Hong Kong) and 205 from India. Thirty-five people from Turkey made the cut this year, up from 33 in 2024, with a combined wealth of $79.4 billion.
At the top of the Turkish list is Murat Ülker, 66, the principal shareholder of Yıldız Holding, which owns the snack food giant Pladis and brands like Godiva and Ülker. Ülker increased his net worth by $400 million over the past year, a rise Forbes attributes to Yıldız Holding’s strong financial performance in 2024, including a 53 percent jump in sales and a sharp drop in the group’s debt load.
The second-richest Turk is energy magnate Şaban Cemil Kazancı, CEO of Kazancı Holding, whose net worth rose to $4.3 billion, marking an $800 million increase from last year. His holding’s diversified operations in electricity generation, natural gas distribution and generator manufacturing contributed to his rise in the rankings.
Kazancı’s firm also expanded operations abroad, with significant contracts and acquisitions in Europe and the United States.
Uğur Şahin, the German-based co-founder of BioNTech and a Turkish citizen by birth, tied Kazancı for second place with a $4.3 billion in net worth. Şahin’s pharmaceutical company, known for developing one of the most widely used COVID-19 vaccines, is now focusing heavily on cancer therapies and mRNA-based research, despite a revenue decline in 2024.
Rounding out the top five Turkish billionaires are Eren and Fatih Özmen, owners of the US-based defense and aerospace contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation. Eren Özmen ranks fourth with a net worth of $4 billion, while Fatih Özmen follows at $3.8 billion. Their company recently secured multi-billion dollar contracts with the US military, including for the so-called “Doomsday Plane” project and the HADES surveillance program.
The youngest Turkish billionaire on the list is 40-year-old İpek Kıraç, daughter of the late Suna Kıraç of the Koç family. She is the sixth-richest Turk with $3.2 billion in assets, largely tied to Koç Holding, one of Turkey’s largest conglomerates. The Koç family has three members on the global list this year, with a combined net worth of $9.1 billion.
Turkey’s billionaire landscape remains heavily dominated by traditional industries such as food, energy, construction and retail. Notably absent are billionaires emerging from sectors like fintech or software. The wealth profiles of the richest Turks are often linked to family-controlled holdings with decades-long histories.
New to the Turkish billionaire list in 2025 is Kazım Türker, founder of Türkerler Holding, whose diversified investments in energy, real estate and healthcare propelled his fortune to $1.4 billion.
Returning to the list are Selçuk and Haluk Bayraktar, brothers and executives at Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar. Selçuk Bayraktar, who is also President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law, has a net worth of $1.8 billion and ranks 1,947th globally. His brother Haluk Bayraktar, Baykar’s CEO, follows closely with $1.6 billion. The company’s military drones have been exported to over 30 countries and used in conflicts in Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Libya. Baykar’s exports hit $1.8 billion in 2023.
Turkey’s top taxpayers’ list confirms Bayraktar’s financial clout domestically. He paid the highest income tax in 2022, roughly $34 million, due to Turkish tax laws applying income tax rather than corporate tax to sole proprietorships like Baykar.
While the number of Turkish billionaires remains below the 2013 peak of 44, the total wealth of the 2025 group — $79.4 billion — exceeds that of any previous year. The trend reflects broader global gains among the ultra-wealthy, with Forbes noting that this year’s newcomers are not only more numerous but also wealthier than ever before.
Globally, Elon Musk reclaimed the top spot on Forbes’ list with a net worth of $342 billion, followed by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at $216 billion and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos at $215 billion. The top 10 are dominated by US-based tech and investment titans, while Bernard Arnault of France remains Europe’s wealthiest individual with $178 billion.
Turkey’s representation in the global billionaire class remains relatively modest. Still, with rising fortunes in energy, defense and pharmaceuticals, the country’s top earners are expanding their influence both at home and abroad.
Among the 35 Turkish billionaires, only four are women — Filiz Şahenk, Semahat Sevim Arsel, Deniz Şahenk and İpek Kıraç — emphasizing a persistent gender gap in Turkey’s billionaire class. The average age among Turkish billionaires is also rising, with industry veterans such as 96-year-old Semahat Arsel and 94-year-old Mustafa Rahmi Koç continuing to have significant wealth.
Forbes has been publishing its Turkish billionaire rankings since 2005. This year’s list was compiled based on shareholdings in public and private companies, real estate valuations, art collections and other assets as of March 8, 2025.