Obituary – Sakip Sabanci

Sakip Sabanci passed away at 6:00 am on Saturday 10th April, following a long battle against cancer. He was 71. As head of the Sabanci group, he presided over the establishment of Lassa in 1974 and the later joint venture with Bridgestone in 1988, as a result of which the company name changed to Brisa.

A new factory was built at Izmit and production began in November 1990. Married with three children, he was the author of 13 books and, during his lifetime, was awarded no fewer than 11 honorary doctorates by Turkish and US universities. Other awards include the Crystal Globe by the European Economic Institute and the Turkish State Distinguished Service Medal.

In 1999 Sakip Sabanci was elected “Businessman of the Year” by the FABSIT foundation in New York and was given the “Award for promoting Turkey” by the Turkish-American Businessman Association. With an estimated fortune of 2.65 billion Euro, he was reckoned to be Turkey’s richest man.