Hamdi Ulukaya

The CEO and founder of Chobani was born into the dairy business. Ulukaya grew up in a Kurdish dairy-farming family that raised sheep in Turkey. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1994, Ulukaya used a loan from the Small Business Administration in 2005 to buy a yogurt plant in upstate New York and started selling yogurt two years later. Chobani is still a private company; Ulukaya says it has grown around 20% to 25% year over year. Ulukaya’s personal net worth is estimated to be around $2.5 billion. Chobani also owns high-end coffee roastery La Colombe, and earlier this year, Ulukaya acquired the legacy San Francisco–based Anchor Brewing Company via his family office, Shepherd Futures. Ulukaya is also one of the business world’s most impactful philanthropists: Chobani has been a pioneer in hiring refugees. The nonprofit Tent Partnership, which Ulukaya founded in 2016, now works with 400 companies nationwide to do the same.