[1] The family's main business entity was founded by Hacı Ömer Sabancı in the 1930s.
Hacı Ömer Sabancı, the progenitor of the Sabancı family, moved from his native Kayseri to Adana in the early 1920s.
His business grew, in part, due to reduced business competition as a result of the Armenian genocide.
[2][3] Some second and third generation members of the family today control a group of companies under Sabancı Holding.
Some second and third generation members of the family have left their managerial positions at Sabancı Holding and established their own companies such as Esas Holding which owns Pegasus Airlines[5], and over the years have become a multi billion dollar alternative investment firm based out of London and Istanbul.