[citation needed] He started as a banker in Baghdad in 1902, founding Zilkha Bank, and gradually expanded to Beirut (Banque Zilkha), Damascus, Cairo, Alexandria, Geneva, New York, Paris and the Far East.
His son Selim was a British entrepreneur who founded the large Mothercare chain.
His son Abdullah ran an investment bank in Zurich named Ufitec.
[4] His son Ezra established in his father's memory the Khedouri Zilkha Fund for the Study of the History of Jewish Civilization in the Near East at Princeton University.
[5] The fund supports a professorship, the current holder of which is Marina Rustow and past holders Mark R. Cohen and Abraham Udovitch.