Calouste Gulbenkian

Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (English pronunciation /kæˈluːst ɡʊlˈbɛŋkiən/; Western Armenian: Գալուստ Սարգիս Կիւլպէնկեան, romanized: Kalousd Sarkis Giulbêngean, pronounced [kʰɑlust ɡʏlbɛŋɡjɑn]; 23 March 1869 – 20 July 1955) was an Armenian-British businessman. He played a major role in making the petroleum reserves of the Middle East available to Western development and is credited with being the first person to exploit Iraqi oil. Following the "Red Line Agreement" (said by some accounts to have been drafted by himself), a fixed 5% of the shares of the Turkish Petroleum Company (later renamed the Iraqi Petroleum Company) were to be consistently owned by him, for which he earned the nickname "Mr. Five Per Cent". Gulbenkian travelled extensively and lived in a number of cities including his birth city of Constantinople and later London, Paris, and finally Lisbon.

Throughout his life, Gulbenkian was involved with many philanthropic activities including the establishment of schools, hospitals, and churches. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, a private foundation based in Portugal, was created in 1956 by his bequest and continues to promote arts, charity, education, and science throughout the world. It is now among the largest foundations in Europe. By the end of his life he had become one of the world's wealthiest people and his art acquisitions one of the greatest private collections.

Biography

Family background

Gulbenkian's family are believed to be descendants of the Rshtunis, a noble Armenian family—Amira—centred on the Lake Van region in the 4th century AD. In the 11th century, the Rshtunis settled in Caesarea (now Kayseri), taking the name Vart Badrik, a Byzantine title.