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The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Despite the urging of his family and others, Calouste Gulbenkian did not establish a museum or memorial during his lifetime. He did loan some his art collections, notably in Great Britain from 1930 to 1950, even though his British citizenship was revoked during World War II.

In his will, drawn up in 1953, he provided for the formation of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Like everything else he did in his life, his will was clearly detailed, outlining how the foundation was to operate. Recognizing that neutral Portugal permitted him to immigrate to Lisbon during the war, Gulbenkian made this country the primary beneficiary of his estate. His will states that the foundation is to be permanently headquartered in Lisbon and operate under the laws of Portugal and that a majority of the members of the board of directors are to be Portuguese citizens. However, he permitted the foundation to have branches in other countries, as the directors saw fit.

The stated objective of the foundation, established in 1956, is to support worldwide projects in the fields of art, education, science, health, and social welfare. The centerpiece of the foundation is the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, located in central Lisbon on approximately twenty acres of land. Opened in 1969, the museum has three major buildings: the museum itself, the foundation’s headquarters, and the grand auditorium. The Lisbon museum is supplemented by branches in England and France, a reflection of Gulbenkian’s nearly sixty years of residency in London and Paris.

Gulbenkian developed his love of art and culture early in life, and he continued to pursue these interests throughout his business career. He endeavored to visit museums every time he traveled, and he was able to do so without detracting from his business pursuits. The results of his interest in art are evidenced by his art collection, with items from 2800 b.c.e. through the twentieth century. In addition to numerous paintings by some of the world’s great masters, there are many impressive sculptures. Overall, his collection totals some six thousand items, ranking it among the largest ever amassed by a single collector.

There is also a smaller museum and church in Armenia, demonstrating his devotion to the Armenian Christian faith.

The Gulbenkian Museum contains far more than works of art. The facility has a music department, comprising three resident groups—an orchestra, choir, and ballet company. These groups regularly organize dance and concert performances in Lisbon and other cities in Portugal. In 1999, the foundation arranged to loan about eighty of its works to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which helped enhance the international reputation of Gulbenkian, who is generally not well known in the United States.


See Also

Hugh Roy Cullen

Edward L. Doheny

J. Paul Getty

Armand Hammer

H. L. Hunt

Clint Murchison, Sr.

Joseph Pew

Sid W. Richardson

John D. Rockefeller

Harry F. Sinclair

Great Lives from History: The Incredibly Wealthy

Calouste Gulbenkian

by Ralph W. Lindeman

Turkish oil magnate

Gulbenkian made his fortune in the international petroleum business, working to organize the world’s first oil cartel, the Iraq Petroleum Company, in the 1920’s. At the time of his death in 1955, Gulbenkian left $70 million in cash and a £5-£10 million annual endowment and sizable art collections to establish an international charitable foundation.

Source of wealth: Oil

Bequeathal of wealth: Children; charity

Early Life

Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (kahl-LOU-stay SAHR-kihs guhl-BEHN-kee-an) was the son of Sarkis and Dirouhie Gulbenkian. He came from a family of bankers and merchants long established in what is now Istanbul, Turkey, where his Armenian father was an important oil magnate. The young Gulbenkian’s early education was at the French lycée in Istanbul. He showed little initial acumen in finance, being more drawn toward mechanics and engineering. These interests laid the groundwork for later success, as he learned to apply scientific and mathematical techniques to business problems. This methodical approach would distinguish him throughout his career, making him a superb negotiator.

In 1886, his father sent him to London to study petroleum engineering at King’s College. Upon the death of his father, Gulbenkian and the other heirs dissolved the family banking business, and Gulbenkian formally immigrated to England, becoming a naturalized British citizen in 1902.

First Ventures

Despite his excellent education and the initial contacts provided by his family, Gulkenkian could not be considered truly wealthy at the inception of his business career. The best early estimate of his net worth was £500,000 in 1908. Gulbenkian quickly learned the importance of developing personal relationships, two of which were with Henri W. A. Deterding and Marcus Samuel, first Viscount Bearsted. Both men had been involved with separate oil ventures, with Bearsted’s merchant house having built the first oil tanker in 1892. Gulbenkian met both these men soon after settling in London. After several years of fruitless competition and initial rejection of a Turkish-based franchise, Gulbenkian convinced Deterding and Samuel to join forces with him in what became known as the Royal Dutch Shell Corporation. In 1907, he induced his American law firm to sponsor the new company’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange. This listing resulted in the creation of the giant Shell Corporation of America and provided millions of dollars to the new firm, which became a major competitor of Standard Oil Company. This was Gulbenkian’s first international venture, for which he received a 2 percent commission and, according to some sources, 5 percent of the equity, leading to his nickname of “Mr. Five Percent.”

Mature Wealth

In addition to his early realization that the automobile would have a significant impact on worldwide demand for oil, Gulbenkian had a major advantage over his European and American counterparts. Unlike most of them, he was familiar with the Middle East, because he had spent a year studying the Baku oil fields. He understood that the Ottoman Empire was weak, and he recognized the opportunities that would be available to an astute investor after the empire would fall.

Once again relying on his personal contacts, Gulbenkian in 1910 became technical adviser to Great Britain’s financial mission to Istanbul, as well as executive director of the National Bank of Turkey, which ultimately became an all-British venture. Subsequently, the National Bank merged in 1912 with the Turkish Petroleum Company, a joint venture of the largest European oil companies, which sought to obtain exclusive development rights in key areas of the Ottoman Empire. Here Gulbenkian’s ability to take the long view was demonstrated as he first surrendered 25 percent of his original 40 percent of holdings in Turkish Petroleum to incorporate Royal Dutch Shell into the consortium and subsequently yielded an additional 10 percent to the British government’s Anglo-Persian Oil Company. Although this divestment reduced his personal interest to the legendary 5 percent, he acquired long-term relationships with both the Turkish Petroleum and Anglo-Persian companies.

In handling business negotiations, Gulbenkian displayed his intelligence, unflagging industry, and energy. Almost as important as these attributes was his detailed, mathematical mind, which at times seemed almost brooding as he examined the relevant data before him. Combined with his background as a naturally suspicious ethnic Armenian, he was a formidable adversary in complex negotiations. Some people described him as ruthless in his business dealings.

Gulbenkian’s character traits were particularly prominent when the Ottoman Empire was dismantled following World War I. At this time, present-day Iraq, the area that was a primary site of Turkish Petroleum’s operations, came under British mandate, and it was fortunate that Gulbenkian had earlier acquired British citizenship. Although he had worked before the war to bring Deutsche Bank and other German interests into Turkish Petroleum, he now brought French businesspeople into the oil consortium, a move that effectively founded the French oil production industry. He continued to develop Turkish Petroleum throughout the 1920’s, resulting in the integration of American interests and culminating in what became known as the 1928 “red line agreement,” whereby Gulbenkian reportedly mapped the boundaries of the consolidated venture with a red pen. Thus was formed the world’s first oil cartel—renamed the Iraq Petroleum Company—which shaped the Middle East oil industry for the next twenty years. As usual, Gulbenkian emerged with his legendary 5 percent of this venture.

The 1930’s continued to be a successful period for Gulbenkian, but storm clouds were emerging. He benefited handsomely from Iraq Petroleum’s escalating revenues, but like any successful entrepreneur, he had made enemies, partially because he had moved his permanent residence from London to Paris during the 1920’s. Perhaps as a result, disagreements with the British frustrated his participation in a Saudi Arabian oil concession in 1931. At the outbreak of World War II, he fled his Paris residence, taking up domicile in Vichy France, the puppet state established in southern France. According to British wartime legislation, this move was considered an enemy act and resulted in his being stripped of both his 5 percent interest in Iraq Petroleum and his British citizenship.

Gulbenkian had been a commercial counselor in the Persian (Iranian) diplomatic service for many years, and he assumed Persian citizenship. However, his citizenship became an issue when Persia declared war on the Axis countries, and he moved to neutral Portugal, taking up residence in Lisbon at the exclusive Hotel Avis in 1942. During the period from 1945 to 1948, Gulbenkian obtained the right to recover his Iraq Petroleum investment, although he never reapplied for British citizenship. Gulbenkian was very careful with his money, which he devoted to art and other cultural pursuits. His collections included paintings by Rembrandt, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Thomas Gainsborough; Jean-Antoine Houdon’s sculpture of Diana; and J. P. Morgan’s collection of ancient Greek coins.

Gulbenkian was physically healthy into the early 1950’s, and the continued success of Iraq Petroleum continued to add to his wealth. However, in 1953, he was bedridden, assisted by numerous nurses. His last visit outside the hotel was at Christmas in 1954. He died peacefully on July 20, 1955, at the age of eighty-six.

Legacy

Calouste Gulbenkian’s attained his success in part because he understood the importance of developing relationships with people from a wide range of nationalities. Armenian by ethnicity, he adapted quickly to Western life, living in London and Paris for almost sixty years but quickly relocating to Lisbon when the situation required it. Throughout his life he retained his Middle Eastern contacts, which served him well when he was forced to become a Persian citizen during World War II. Gulbenkian was equally flexible in his negotiating skills. He never engaged in an important business discussion without having a fallback position, which allowed him to quickly consider alternatives. Overall, it might be said that he was a forerunner of the modern global businessman. His legacy is the museum he endowed in Portugal, with branches in England and France, where millions of visitors have enjoyed the fruits of his labor.

Further Reading

1 

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation: The Foundation’s Activities in Portugal. Lisbon: Author, 1998. Describes the organization of the foundation after Gulbenkian’s death and provides a detailed description of the museum in Lisbon.

2 

Hewins, Ralph. Mr. Five Percent: The Story of Calouste Gulbenkian. New York: Rinehart, 1958. An independent interpretation of Gulbenkian by an English writer. The title reflects Gulbenkian’s penchant for retaining 5 percent of the equity in his investments.

3 

Lodwick, John. Gulbenkian: An Interpretation of “the Richest Man in the World.” Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1958. Detailed study of Gulbenkian, written shortly after his death, by an Englishman whose primary focus was as a novelist. Describes how Gulbenkian’s character and financial acumen served him well throughout his long business career.

4 

Lodwick, John, and David Young. Gulbenkian: An Interpretation of Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian. London: Heinemann, 1958. This analysis of Gulbenkian offers a European interpretation of his life, including input from his longtime secretary David Young. Both this book and Lodwick’s other book about Gulbenkian document the first meeting between Gulbenkian and Young at Gulbenkian’s London office in 1908.

5 

Silverstein, Ken. “Invisible Hands: The Secret World of the Oil Fixer.” Harper’s 318, no. 1906 (March, 2009): 52. Provides a contemporary perspective on Gulbenkian and his negotiating strategies.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Lindeman, Ralph W. "Calouste Gulbenkian." Great Lives from History: The Incredibly Wealthy, edited by Howard Bromberg, Salem Press, 2010. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=GLIW_1185369001185.
APA 7th
Lindeman, R. W. (2010). Calouste Gulbenkian. In H. Bromberg (Ed.), Great Lives from History: The Incredibly Wealthy. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Lindeman, Ralph W. "Calouste Gulbenkian." Edited by Howard Bromberg. Great Lives from History: The Incredibly Wealthy. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2010. Accessed October 22, 2025. online.salempress.com.