Hamdi Ulukaya

Founder and CEO, Chobani

$2.28B

$908K

as of 07/02/24

About Hamdi Ulukaya

Hamdi Ulukaya, known as the yogurt king, is the founder of America's most popular Greek yogurt brand, Chobani.

Ulukaya grew up in a Kurdish dairy-farming family in Turkey and raised sheep. He eventually left to study political science at Ankara University.

He immigrated to the U.S. in 1994 to study English in upstate New York, an area that reminded him of the small farming villages in Eastern Turkey.

With a loan from the Small Business Administration, he bought an old yogurt plant there in 2005 and developed a recipe inspired by his heritage.

He started selling his yogurt in 2007; in 2023, Chobani pulled in more than $2 billion in sales.

Personal stats

Citizenship

Türkiye

Source of wealth

Greek yogurt

Residence

Norwich, New York

Marital status

Married

Birth date

10/26/72 (age 51)

Education

Master of Business Administration, SUNY Albany

Self-made

self-made

Hamdi Ulukaya’s fortune is worth

38K

troy ounces of gold

35K

median U.S. household

23K

median U.S. income

0.046%

U.S. credit card volume

0.009%

GDP of the United States

0.007%

United States debt

Net worth history

Annual ranking

Did you know?

Refugees and immigrants, who make up 30% Chobani's workforce, are offered English language classes as well as translators in up to 11 languages.