Vehbi Koç

Following the establishment of branch offices in Istanbul and Eskişehir in 1938, he merged all these enterprises into a company called Koç Ticaret A.Ş.

In 1942, Vehbi Koç saw the opportunities the Varlık Vergisi, a wealth tax imposed on non-Muslims, afforded him as a businessman and took over many collapsed or confiscated companies.

One such acquisition was an Istanbul building owned by an Armenian named Margarios Ohanyan, who had sold a property worth 1.5-2 million liras at market prices through public auction for significantly below its value as he attempted to avoid paying the huge tax hike.

Having convinced General Electric management that it was a good idea, he signed an agreement in 1948[10] to build a light bulb factory in Turkey, which opened in 1952.

He also founded companies like Bozkurt Mensucat, Arçelik in 1955, Demir Döküm in 1954, Turkay, Aygaz in 1962, Gazal, Türk Elektrik Endüstrisi and a joint cable factory with Siemens.

In the 1920s Vehbi Koç joined the predecessor of the Republican Peoples' Party (CHP), the Association for Defense of National Rights.

[14] This relationship with the CHP became an obstacle to further development of the Koç Group and he came under pressure from the ruling Democrat Party (DP) to join it instead.

[16] He also established the Vehbi Koç Foundation on 17 January 1969 to promote activities in the fields of education, health and culture.

[21] On 25 February 1996 Vehbi Koç died of heart failure during a Migros tour in Antalya, where he was on holiday with his daughter Sevgi and son-in-law over Ramazan Bayramı.

On 27 February 1996, following a funeral service at the Koç Holding headquarters and then in Fatih Mosque, he was laid to rest at the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.

When the family refused to pay, they appealed to the TV channel Kanal D, owned by Aydın Doğan, asking for 20 billion TL, around US$210,000 at that time.