Erdoğan Demirören remembered on his death anniversary

ISTANBUL

Prominent Turkish industrialist and businessman Erdoğan Demirören, who was the founder of Demirören Holding, which is one of Türkiye’s largest conglomerates, has been commemorated on the fifth anniversary of his death.

On June 8, 2018, Demirören lost his life in a hospital in Istanbul, where he received treatment for respiratory failure for a while at the age of 80.

The demise of Demirören had deeply saddened many figures from the business, art and sports communities. On the fifth anniversary of his demise, many people, including his family, friends and colleagues, remembered him.

Demirören was born in 1938 in the western province of Bursa.

He later moved to Istanbul, where he graduated from the Saint Benoit French School.

Demirören was 19 years old when his father passed away. Following his father’s death, he took over the family business at a young age. Demirören’s first job was at Kolaylık Oto, a firm importing automobile spare parts.

The early 1970s marked a turning point for Demirören. He bought Türkiye’s first gas company. In the following years, Demirören Group invested most in the gas business.

But Demirören’s business activities were not limited to the energy sector. He invested in education, tourism and industry, and owned a number of companies in those sectors.

In 2011, the Demirören Group bought Milliyet and Vatan newspapers in May 2011 to lay the foundations of the Demirören Media Group.

The group became Türkiye’s biggest media group when Hürriyet newspaper and Kanal D and CNN Türk television channels were purchased in March 2018.

The late businessman was also known for his charity works, especially for the disabled. He allocated a total of 12,000 vehicles for the disabled to use.