Galust Gyulbenkyan was a British businessman of Armenian descent. He played a significant role in ensuring access for Western fuel companies to oil fields in the Middle East. Galust Gulbenkyan is considered the first entrepreneur to organize the extraction of black gold in Iraq. The businessman actively traveled and lived in cities such as Constantinople, London, Paris and Lisbon.
Throughout his life he was engaged in charity work. The oilman founded schools, hospitals and churches. The private foundation of Galust Gulbenkian, located in Portugal, promotes the development of art, education and science around the world. The entrepreneur was one of the richest people of that time. His art collection is one of the greatest private collections in the world.
Origin
Representatives of the clan Galust Gulbenkian belongs to are the descendants of the ancient Armenian aristocratic dynasty Rshtuni. Until the mid-19th century, this family lived in the city of Talas, and then moved to Constantinople. The father of the future philanthropist owned several oil fields near Baku and was engaged in the supply of fuel to Turkey.
early years
Galust Gyulbenkyan was born in 1869 in Constantinople, which at that time was the capital of the Ottoman Empire. He received primary education at a local Armenian school. Then, training continued at the two most prestigious private institutions in Turkey: the French Lyceum Saint Joseph and the American Robert College. At the age of 15, Gyulbenkyan went to Europe to perfect foreign languages.
Oil business
After leaving school, his father sent him to King's College London to prepare for work in the family business. In the capital of Great Britain, the future entrepreneur received a diploma in oil engineering. In one of the few surviving old photos, Galust Gyulbenkyan is imprinted in the traditional attire of a graduate of King’s College. A year later, he arrived in Baku in order to find application of his knowledge in the local oil industry and gain practical experience.
New horizons opened up for the family business after Kazazyan Pasha, an Armenian by birth, was appointed Minister of Finance of the Ottoman Empire. The compatriot helped gain the favor of the Turkish government and received an order for the exploration of oil fields in Mesopotamia (in the territory of modern Syria and Iraq). The direct implementation of this task was entrusted to Galust. The novice oilman chose a very straightforward research method - he simply interviewed the engineers who supervised the construction of the Baghdad Railway. Intelligence results convinced Kazazyan Pasha that significant oil reserves are located in Mesopotamia, which are of great interest to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The Minister of Finance agreed to the acquisition of land in the region and the creation of a mining industry there.
Flight from Turkey
However, this project could not be implemented at that moment due to the tragic turn of history. In the Ottoman Empire, events began known as the Hamidian massacre. Massacres of Armenians began on the territory of the state. According to various estimates, the death toll ranged from several tens to several hundred thousand people. The Turkish government and army unofficially endorsed the bloodshed and supported the murderers of the Armenians. The family of Galust Gulbenkian was forced to leave the territory of the Ottoman Empire for security reasons. They took refuge in Egypt. In Cairo, Galust met the famous Russian oil tycoon Alexander Mantashev, who introduced him to a number of influential people, including the English politician Lord Evelin Baring. Gulbenkian soon moved to the UK and in 1902 became a citizen of this country. He continued to engage in the oil business and for his habit of holding a fixed share of the total value of the assets of the commercial companies he created, received the nickname "Mr. Five Percent." The Armenian entrepreneur became one of the founders of the famous Dutch-British corporation Royal Dutch Shell.
World War I period
Despite the forced flight from the Ottoman Empire, Gyulbenkian continued to work with the government of this country as an economic and financial adviser. He took an active part in the creation of an oil company aimed at developing hydrocarbon deposits in Mesopotamia. Later, the businessman even took the post of director of the National Bank of Turkey.
The biography of Galust Gulbenkian is replete with episodes in which global historical events impeded the implementation of his grandiose plans. Once again, the businessman’s plans to develop the oil industry in Syria and Iraq were violated by the First World War. The alignment of forces on the world stage has changed dramatically. The British government gave preference to the Anglo-Persian oil company (the modern British Petroleum). However, the results of the war were favorable for Gulbenkian. The defeated Germany has ceased to participate in the struggle for global reserves of black gold. The Ottoman Empire ceased to exist. Mesopotamia has become the mandated territory of France and Great Britain. Ultimately, the Armenian industrialist received his traditional five percent stake in Iraq Petroleum Co. Ltd. Gyulbenkyan became one of the richest people in the world.
World War II period
A subtle sense of danger and forethought never failed the famous businessman. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, he transferred all of his assets related to the oil industry to the management of a company registered in Latin America. Gulbenkian remained in France occupied by the Third Reich, since, being the economic adviser to the Iranian embassy, he managed to receive diplomatic immunity. The collaboration of a British-citizen businessman with the pro-German puppet government of Vichy led to unpleasant consequences. In the United Kingdom, he was officially declared an enemy, and his financial assets in the country were blocked. In 1942, Gyulbenkyan, with the help of the Portuguese authorities, left France and settled in Lisbon. He was destined to spend the rest of his life in this city. The oil tycoon, collector and philanthropist passed away in 1955. He was buried in London.
Inheritance
An outstanding businessman married in 1892 to the Armenian Nevart Essayan. They had two children, a son Nubar and a daughter Rita. The heirs grew up in the UK, where the family moved because of the massacre of Armenians in Turkey. The daughter married an Iranian diplomat. The son was educated in Cambridge and joined the family business. In the early stages, his father, whose legends were stingy, paid him nothing for his work. Subsequently, the son sued the elder Gulbenkyan, demanding compensation of $ 10 million. Nubar was characterized by eccentricity and a penchant for an extravagant lifestyle. The heir’s complex nature prompted the tycoon to make a decision to testament a significant part of his fortune to the Galust Gyulbenkyan charitable foundation.
At the time of the death of the oilman, the total value of his assets was estimated at several hundred million dollars. In an era of gold-backed currency, it was a fantastic amount. In accordance with the will, part of the state was transferred to trust funds intended for posterity. The son received several million dollars, but long before that, he had independently achieved financial independence by doing business in the oil market. The remainder of the estate and the art collection were transferred to the charity foundation and museum of Galust Gulbenkian. 400 thousand dollars were reserved in order to donate them to the restoration of the Echmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia, one of the most ancient Christian churches in the world, when the permission of the government of the Soviet Union is obtained. The main manager of the charity fund was a longtime friend of the oil industry, Baron Cyril Radcliffe, a well-known British politician. The headquarters of this organization is located in Lisbon.
Charity
Throughout his life, Gyulbenkian often donated large sums of money to churches, schools and hospitals. He financially supported charitable foundations helping the Armenians. In those days, compatriots of the oil magnate, fleeing from extermination, were scattered around the world. He demanded that five percent of the jobs at Iraq Petroleum Co. Ltd. be reserved for people of Armenian descent. Gulbenkian financed the construction of St. Starkis Church in the Kensington district of London. He erected this temple as a monument to his parents, and also in order to create a place where members of the Armenian community can gather.
In 1929, the oilman founded an extensive library at the Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem. This temple belongs to the Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The library is named after its founder and contains about 100 thousand books. Gulbenkian donated a large building to the Armenian hospital in Istanbul. Subsequently, the Turkish government confiscated the building and returned it to the charity fund only in 2011. The oil tycoon has repeatedly financed the construction of the Istanbul hospital and used the proceeds from the sale of jewelry of his wife for this. For two years, the patron served as president of the General Armenian Charity Union, but was forced to resign as a result of political intrigue. The oil industry fund successfully continued to work after the death of the founder. In 1988, a charitable organization allocated about a million dollars to help victims of the earthquake in Armenia.
Works of art
Galust Gulbenkian spent his huge fortune on the acquisition of objects of high artistic value. Journalists and experts of that time believed that there had never been an example in a previous story for one person to own such a large collection. The oil tycoon managed to collect 6400 pieces of art throughout his life. The time of creation of these works begins with antiquity and ends with the 20th century. Before the start of World War II, the businessman kept the collection in his private house in Paris. As the number of items increased, the four-story building turned out to be crowded. For this reason, thirty paintings were deposited with the National Gallery of London, and Egyptian sculptures went to the British Museum.
Gulbenkian acquired some works in the process of selling paintings from the Hermitage by the Soviet government. Experiencing an acute need for foreign currency, the Bolshevik authorities decided to secretly offer rich Western collectors to buy unique paintings that are a national treasure. Gulbenkian, who at that time was the trading partner of Soviet Russia in the oil sector, was among those selected art connoisseurs. In total, he acquired 51 items from the Hermitage. Currently, most of these paintings are in the Galust Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon. Other works of art from the collection of the oil magnate are also stored there. About one thousand objects are presented to visitors. This grand collection of unique artistic creations is now owned by the Galust Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.
Museum
It took 14 years to fulfill the will of the late philanthropist to create an art center open to the general public and to place his unique collection there. In 1957, land was acquired for the construction of the headquarters of the charity foundation and the Galust Gyulbenkyan Museum. It was planned to set up a park around the architectural complex. A competition was held for the best project. According to its results, a team of architects and landscape designers was formed. The grand opening of the Galust Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon took place in 1969. The Portuguese Ministry of Culture is currently considering recognizing this architectural complex as a national treasure.
The exhibits in the museum are placed in chronological order and are combined into two large groups. The first presents monuments of the ancient era. There, visitors can see works of art created in ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, Persia and Mesopotamia. The second group is dedicated to European culture. It includes sculptures, paintings, jewelry, furniture and books dating back to the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The unique collection attracts many tourists and provides work hotels near the Museum of Galust Gulbenkian. The motto of an outstanding entrepreneur and art lover sounded like "only the best." Visitors to the museum can make sure that he really followed this appeal.