Chobani founder and CEO, Hamdi Ulukaya, pledged last week to donate half his estimated $1.4-billion wealth to help refugees.
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Chobani founder and CEO, Hamdi Ulukaya, made a tremendous announcement last week. The Greek yogurt entrepreneur plans to donate half his wealth — estimated at about $1.4 billion — to help refugees.
Hamdi Ulukaya, 43 years old, had already pledged $2 million last year to help people struggling to survive on the borders of his native Turkey in the current crisis with ISIS militants in neighboring Syria and Iraq.
In this latest announcement, Ulukaya said he plans to draw attention to the conditions of refugees worldwide, as well. With the formation of a new charitable organization called Tent, Ulukaya intends to focus efforts on “raising awareness about refugee situations and helping provide relief on issues like education and health care.”
“In a draft of a letter declaring his pledge, Ulukaya said he was inspired by watching his mother ‘give to those who needed it’ and that he had always planned to donate most of what he had.”
Ulukaya’s pledge is part of a unique philanthropic campaign started by Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Buffett and Gates started “The Giving Pledge” to encourage billionaires to commit to giving away at least half their wealth during their lifetime or in their wills. Other high-profile members of this elite group of billionaire philanthropists include Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk.
Ulukaya said he plans to continue in his position at Chobani while increasing his support for refugee advocacy. “It’s enough time to do all of it. I don’t believe that you need to leave your business to do social good,” he said.
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Photo: Mark Von Holden/Associated Press
We are hopeful that Hamdi Ulukaya will receive this urgent plea. We have a building donated in Istanbul to help refugees but we lack the operating capital and will loose this opportunity if not acting quickly. Can you please forward this important appeal. Thank you and God bless.