Chobani billionaire shares wealth and experience with Kurdistan

NEW YORK—Kurdish entrepreneur and founder of America's most popular yogurt brand Chobani, Hamdi Ulukaya, is traveling to the Kurdistan Region this fall to visit two refugee camps funded by his company.

Ulukaya,  will also visit Halabja where he has built a playground and hopes to share his story of entrepreneurship with Kurdish university students. 

Ulukaya was born in 1972 to a Kurdish family in Turkey. His family owned a sheep, goat, and dairy farm near the Euphrates River, making cheese and yogurt.

After studying political science at Ankara University, in 1994 he moved to the United States to study English at Adelphi University on Long Island, New York.

In 1997 he moved upstate and transferred to the University at Albany, State University of New York where he applied for a few business courses.

Ulukaya is known for his charity works, astonishing business success and also his commitment to making delicious and nutritious foods using only natural ingredients.

Recently, Ulukaya pledged to give half of his estimated US$1.3 billion to charity and in this exclusive Rudaw interview he talks about his plans for helping refugees in the Kurdistan Region and the rest of the Middle East.