Nubar Sarkis Gulbenkian (Armenian: Նուպար Սարգիս Կիւլպէնկեան; 2 June 1896 – 10 January 1972) was an Armenian-British business magnate and socialite[1] born in the Ottoman empire.

Working with Ian Garrow, he laid the groundwork for the creation of a network of people to guide stranded allied soldiers over the Pyrenees mountains to non-belligerent Spain, from where they could be repatriated to the United Kingdom.

[5] He was initially the protégé of Henri Deterding at Royal Dutch Shell[2][page needed] but later made an independent fortune which allowed him to live a highly extravagant lifestyle.

[citation needed] Gulbenkian's long beard, monocle and the orchid in his buttonhole which was replaced daily led to him becoming noted for a fairly eccentric life, with a number of stories building up around his name.

He had two Austin FX4 cabs converted to his own specifications, with the passenger compartment re-modelled as the rear part of a horse-drawn Hackney carriage, and despite their somewhat bizarre appearance, one of the vehicles sold for £23,000 in 1993.

[11][better source needed] He courted Marie Berthe Edmée de Ayala, daughter of the French champagne tycoon Louis d'Ayala, for 14 years before they married in 1948.

[12] Controversy continued to follow him after his death due to the vague nature of his father's will, which appeared to suggest that everybody Nubar was employed by or stayed with during his life should receive some money (See Re Gulbenkian's Settlements [1970] AC 553).