As a Kurd born in Turkey, Hamdi Ulukaya experienced the plight of refugees first hand. He saw entire Kurdish towns bombed by Turkish government forces which led to masses of people fleeing for their lives. This is the same reason he left Turkey and emigrated to the United States, according to an interview with CNN Money.
After coming to America, he founded Chobani, a company that has made billions of dollars by producing Greek-style yogurt. At his plant in upstate New York, over 600 of his employees are refugees from various war-torn parts of the world who have been given a second chance in the United States.
Now, after a September visit to Greece and experiencing the plight of the thousands of daily refugee arrivals on Greek islands first hand, the “Greek yogurt billionaire” as he is called, has created a new charity called Tent, which aims to provide support to local support groups on Greek islands and throughout the world.
“There are thousands of incredible, passionate people, organizations, and communities around the world that are working with refugees and the displaced every day,” Ulukaya said in a statement. “Tent will support these groups.”
In an interview with Here and Now, the businessman shared his experiences in Greece and his motivation to donate millions towards the plight of refugees. Listen to the interview here:
