Ahmet Nazif Zorlu, chairman of the board of Zorlu Holding, one of Türkiye’s largest family-owned conglomerates and the owner of electronics and home appliance maker Vestel, has died at the age of 82, NTV and Sözcü reported. He died on the evening of Monday, 2 November, in hospital, where he had been receiving treatment, according to NTV, Sözcü and Karar.
Zorlu Holding announced the death in a statement, saying it was deeply saddened by the loss of its chairman, NTV and Sözcü reported.
Funeral on Wednesday in Levent
According to a Zorlu Holding statement reported by NTV, Karar and Sözcü, the funeral will take place in Istanbul on Wednesday, 4 November. The funeral prayer will be held after the noon prayer at the Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa Mosque in Levent, and Zorlu will be buried in the family plot at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.
In line with his wishes, the family has asked that no wreaths be sent. Those who wish to pay tribute are asked instead to donate to a civil society organisation of their choice, the three outlets reported.
From a textile shop to a conglomerate
Zorlu was born in 1944 in Babadağ, a town in the western province of Denizli, and entered the family textile trade at an early age, opening his first shop in the Black Sea city of Trabzon, according to NTV and Sözcü. In 1970 the company moved its headquarters to Istanbul, laying the foundations of what became Zorlu Holding.
He founded Korteks, the group’s first manufacturing company, in 1976, brought the businesses together under the Zorlu Holding umbrella in 1990 and added Vestel to the group in 1994, taking it into electronics and white goods, both outlets reported. The group today works in textiles, electronics, home appliances, energy, real estate, metallurgy and the defence industry.
On Monday, Vestel signed an agreement to sell its 23% stake in Togg, Türkiye’s domestic car maker, to the Turkey Wealth Fund, as part of a change in Togg ownership.
Sources
- Ahmet Nazif Zorlu yaşamını yitirdi (NTV)
- Zorlu Holding Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Ahmet Nazif Zorlu hayatını kaybetti (Sözcü)
- İş insanı Ahmet Nazif Zorlu’nun cenaze programı belli oldu (Karar)
- Ünlü iş insanı Ahmet Nazif Zorlu’nun cenaze vasiyeti belli oldu (Sözcü)
Photo: Maurice Flesier / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
