Hamdi Ulukaya built his fortune by using an SBA-backed acquisition of an idle New York yogurt plant to launch Chobani, then retained founder ownership as the company expanded across food and beverage categories. [1][2]
An idle yogurt plant became the starting asset
Ulukaya grew up in a dairy-farming family in eastern Turkey and moved to the United States in 1994 to study English. Forbes traces his wealth to the food business he later built in the United States rather than to an inherited operating company. [1]
In 2005 he bought a shuttered yogurt factory in upstate New York with financing that included a Small Business Administration loan. Chobani identifies that acquisition as the beginning of the company, which Ulukaya built around a thicker Greek-style yogurt product. [1][2]
Chobani launched its yogurt nationally after the plant purchase and grew rapidly through grocery distribution and expanded manufacturing. Ulukaya remained the company's founder and chief executive as the business moved beyond a single yogurt line into a broader food platform. [1][2]
Founder ownership compounded as Chobani expanded
Chobani later broadened its portfolio through additional products and acquisitions, including coffee company La Colombe. Those moves increased the scale of the privately held operating company while leaving Ulukaya's personal wealth dependent on the value of his actual ownership interest. [2][1]
Chobani's revenue, factory capacity and acquisition values are company-level measures rather than cash personally owned by Ulukaya. His fortune is better understood as the value of founder equity retained in a business built from an SBA-financed plant acquisition rather than from inherited corporate ownership. [1][2]
Sources for background
Sources reviewed Sep 17, 2026.
- Hamdi Ulukaya · Forbes · Mar 10, 2026
- Careers at Chobani · Chobani
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