KOÇ

In the 1920s, a young Italian man left his hometown of Fabriano, a secluded village nestled in the mountains of the Marche region in Central Italy, to find work in Turin, the former capital of the newly born Kingdom of Italy. That was where the factories were. He was essentially a migrant worker: though he remained in the same country, moving north in an era with no electricity or cars—where people shared toilets and running water—it felt like going to Mars. The journey took several days by steam train. That man was Aristide Merloni, founder of the Indesit group. He lived in Turin for more than ten years.

Eventually, he returned to Fabriano, tired of living far from home but inspired by a new idea: starting a manufacturing plant in his hometown so his countrymen wouldn’t have to emigrate for work as he had. Thus, the Ariston brand was born. In a few decades, it became the largest appliance company in Italy. His sons carried on the growth, turning Ariston into a European powerhouse, stretching from the UK to Russia, under the name Indesit. Alas, his grandchildren did not follow in the same footsteps: they sold Indesit to American multinational Whirlpool about ten years ago. In 2023, Whirlpool itself decided to leave Fabriano and the entire European market. Whirlpool’s EMEA region was put up for sale and was bought by Arçelik, a Turkish brand that suddenly became the largest appliance maker in Europe.

Arçelik is owned by a previously little-known family: Koç Holding.

The roots of the Koç family’s legacy trace back to the early 20th century, when Vehbi Koç, the patriarch, began a journey that would transform his family into one of Turkey’s most influential business dynasties. In 2016, the sudden death of Mustafa Koç, then chairman of Koç Holding, sent shockwaves through the country. It wasn’t just the loss of a leader that stunned the nation—it was the realization that the future of one of Turkey’s most powerful dynasties was hanging in the balance. Mustafa’s untimely death from a heart attack at just 55 marked a poignant moment in the Koç family’s century-long history.

Vehbi Koç was born in 1901 in Ankara—then a remote town tucked into the inaccessible mountains of Anatolia, a region of the vast Ottoman Empire, which once stretched from Greece to modern-day Sudan. At just 17 years old, Koç began working in the grocery store his father had opened for him. Destiny was waiting: only one year later, the Ottoman Empire was defeated in World War I, and the entire Islamic realm collapsed. Amid the upheaval, a young military leader, disillusioned by the defeat, emerged: Atatürk led a revolution that established a new, much smaller country named after him—Turkey.

One of Atatürk’s first moves was to shift the capital from millennia-old Istanbul-Constantinople to Ankara, which suddenly became the political and administrative heart of the nation. Vehbi saw the opportunity. He also understood the need for modernization and industrialization in this new Turkey, breaking free from Ottoman traditions. He began diversifying his business interests into appliances, agriculture, textiles, and construction. Crucially, he built partnerships with world-renowned multinationals: Ford, Mobil, Fiat, General Electric, Siemens, Yamaha, and Allianz, to name a few.

Vehbi sought to create a conglomerate resilient to time and economic fluctuations. In 1963, he officially founded Koç Holding, bringing all his enterprises under one umbrella. It was the first conglomerate of its kind in Turkey. Koç Holding would go on to become the country’s largest industrial group. Under Vehbi’s leadership, it expanded rapidly, entering new sectors and forming alliances with global corporations.

Today, Koç Holding is Turkey’s largest conglomerate, with interests in automotive, energy, finance, and consumer goods. Its total assets exceed $50 billion, and annual revenues surpass $35 billion, accounting for approximately 8% of Turkey’s GDP and 20% of its stock exchange. The group employs over 90,000 people and is responsible for nearly 10% of the country’s exports. Remarkably, it all began with a washing machine.

That milestone was Arçelik’s founding in 1955, even before Koç Holding was officially created. Recognising the need for modern appliances, Vehbi pioneered the industry in Turkey, launching a refrigerator built in partnership with an American company due to a lack of local know-how. Arçelik’s rise coincided with a post-WWII economic boom and a growing middle class hungry for modern comforts.

Turkey is a nation of 86 million people—home to the youngest and largest population in the region. Its $800 billion economy allocates about 1% of its GDP to research and development. Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan—equally loved and loathed—Turkey has adeptly played its strategic role in global affairs. It secured €7 billion in EU funds to manage the refugee crisis and gained leverage over critical trade routes like the Bosphorus Strait, especially crucial for wheat transport from Eastern Europe.

Despite strategic gains, Turkey faces deep cultural and economic challenges. After decades of military-backed secularism, there has been a return to Islamic nostalgia and neo-Ottoman ideals. This unique mix of inflation, tradition, and ambition has shaped the landscape in which Arçelik and Koç Holding have thrived.

Financially, Arçelik has grown steadily, generating over $5 billion in annual revenue. The company is publicly listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange and is a heavy-hitter in terms of market capitalization. This made the Koç family incredibly wealthy—Forbes estimates their fortune at $8 billion. Despite their vast wealth, the Koçs have maintained a relatively low profile. Their philanthropic arm, the Vehbi Koç Foundation (est. 1969), funds education, healthcare, and cultural initiatives, including Koç University, one of Turkey’s top private universities.

Vehbi Koç passed away in February 1996 from a stroke while visiting a Migros supermarket—owned by his holding—in Antalya. Some months later, his body was stolen from his grave. The perpetrators demanded a ransom, which the family refused to pay. They then made a public appeal on Kanal D, a TV channel owned by rival mogul Aydın Doğan, asking for 20 billion Turkish lira (around $210,000 at the time). This macabre episode wasn’t the only trouble: after Vehbi’s death, succession disputes and management challenges emerged within the empire.

Heart issues seem to run in the family: Mustafa Koç, Rahmi’s eldest son and heir to the holding, died unexpectedly at just 55, again from a heart attack. Unlike his grandfather, who lived to 95, Mustafa’s passing left a vacuum. He had been a progressive, global-minded leader and had overseen the expansion of brands like Beko into European market leaders.

Mustafa’s progressive stance brought him into conflict with Erdoğan, who saw the Koçs as representatives of the "old secular elite." During the 2013 Gezi Park protests, demonstrators took refuge in the Divan Hotel—owned by the Koç family. Police responded by firing tear gas into the hotel lobby. Months later, over 200 tax inspectors raided Koç companies, looking for evidence of oil smuggling and tax fraud. The government later canceled major public tenders the Koçs had won, including naval shipbuilding and road concessions.

Mustafa’s death forced the family to act swiftly. His brother, Ömer Koç, assumed leadership and has since guided Koç Holding with an emphasis on family unity and global strategy. Despite government pressure, the family remains at the centre of Turkey’s business elite—and their influence, like their fortune, remains immense.