Calouste Gulbenkian

Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (Scutari, today Üsküdar, Turkey, March 23, 1869 - Lisbon, July 20, 1955; in Western Armenian: >) was a British-nationalized Armenian engineer, businessman and philanthropist, active in the oil sector and one of the pioneers in the development of the oil sector in the Middle East. As a philanthropist, he made a great contribution to cultural development in Portugal. His legacy was the origin of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Studies and beginning of the career

He started his art collection at the age of 14 when he bought some old coins at a bazaar. He studied engineering at King's College London. He became a British citizen in 1902. Immediately after finishing his studies he went into the oil business and was one of the first businessmen to trade Middle Eastern oil. He was involved in the founding of the Royal Dutch Shell oil company and promoted the creation of the Turkish Petroleum Company.

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire with the First World War, Iraq's oil was distributed among the allied countries and was controlled by the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC).

«Mr. 5%»

He was known as Mr Five Percent (Mr. 5%) since in 1914, the main shareholders of Turkish Petroleum Company were forced to grant him a 5% non-voting share to facilitate the shareholding reorganization that gave rise to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, replacing the National Bank of Turkey (of which Gulbenkian was a major shareholder). This agreement was key to satisfying the British government's desire to ensure control of eventual oil discoveries. in Iraq.

Philanthropic activities

The wealth he accumulated allowed him to satisfy his passion for works of art. During World War II he went to Portugal and upon his death he bequeathed his assets to Portugal in the form of a foundation, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, located in his former residence in Lisbon.

In 1930-1932 he presided over the Armenian General Benevolent Union, which at that time had its headquarters in Cairo.