Eren Ozmen

Graduate school and part-time work led to Sierra Nevada

Ozmen came to the United States from Turkey for graduate study and earned an MBA at the University of Nevada, Reno. Forbes reported that she supported herself with several jobs, including selling baklava and cleaning Sierra Nevada Corporation's offices at night. ^[1][2]

After business school she worked in financial reporting, then joined Sierra Nevada and helped modernize its accounting and financial systems. The company was still a small defense contractor and faced serious financial strain during her early years there. ^[2]

In 1994 Eren and Fatih Ozmen acquired Sierra Nevada in a management buyout when it had about twenty employees. They borrowed against their home to finance the transaction, putting personal assets at risk rather than relying on an inherited business base. ^[1][2][3]

Acquisitions and defense programs scaled the company

The Ozmens used operating cash flow and acquisitions to expand Sierra Nevada across aerospace, electronics and defense. Eren became chairwoman and president, while the company developed into a major private government contractor and later separated its space activities into Sierra Space. ^[1][2]

Her billionaire wealth is therefore tied to a company she helped rescue, purchase and scale after arriving in the United States with limited resources. The combination of a modest starting point, personal financial risk and decades of company building supports the strongest self-made classification. ^[1][2][3]