Richest hit hard by weak Turkish Lira

The total wealth of the top 100 richest people in Turkey decreased significantly due to the weak performance of the Istanbul Stock Exchange National 100 Index (ISE 100) and the depreciation of the Turkish Lira against the U.S. dollar this year compared with the previous year, according to the Economist magazine.

The wealth of the top 100 richest people decreased to a range between $161.9 billion and $216.7 billion this year compared with last year’s range between $176.4 billion and $227 billion, according to the Economist’s Top Richest 100 List published yesterday. Despite a small decrease in their wealth between 2008 and 2009 due to the global financial crisis, the wealth of Turkey’s 100 richest people stood between $176.4 billion and $227 billion range last year.

However, the fortunes of the top 100 Turkish families and individuals have decreased and rankings in the list have changed due to an 18 percent slump in the ISE 100 as well as depreciation of the lira against the dollar by nearly 20 percent this year, the report said.

The top three names on the list did not change compared to 2010. The Koç family, which owns Koç Holding, topped the list with assets worth more than $8 billion. The Şahenk family, owner of Doğuş Holding, followed with a total wealth ranging between $6 billion and $8 billion, and Erol Sabancı and his family ranked third with the same range of wealth.

The list is not composed of the top 100 richest individuals of the country, but families and companies, the Economist reported, adding that the total number of people represented in the list would be nearly 9,000 people. Fettah Temince, Yalçın Sabancı, Mehmet Sepil, Süleyman Varlıbaş and the Güral family are among the new people featured on this year’s list