The founder of Chobani, Hamdi Ulukaya, has announced that he will pledge 700 million USD to help Kurdish refugees, as well as refugees from all around the world, through a new foundation called Tent.

In the announcement, Ulukaya said that he will sign the Giving Pledge, a pledge that was started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to spur philanthropy in billionaires and millionaires. Ulukaya has dedicated his pledge to his mother, and has committed the majority of his personal wealth, “to help refugees and help bring an end to this humanitarian crisis.”

Turkish by Nationality, Kurdish by Ethnicity

Turkish by nationality, Kurdish by ethnicity, Ulukaya says that he credits his success to his early years.

I grew up in a Kurdish dairy-farming family in Eastern Turkey. The hardworking, communal culture shaped me as a person.

The founder of Chobani said that he had always planned on donating his wealth to charity, but when the self-declared Islamic State began terrorizing Kurdish villages in 2014, Ulukaya was moved to action.

Donating to Help Kurdish Refugees

In 2014, Ulukaya and Chobani gave 2 million USD to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This money was pledged to help refugees in Turkey and Iraq.

The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has opened its borders to more than 2 million refugees from the conflict in Syria. More than 500,000 more refugees are expected as the self-declared Islamic State, or ISIS, advances on Iraqi cities and villages.

Ulukaya moved to the United States in 1994. He studied English in New York, and in 2005, founded Chobani. Today, Chobani has grown to be one of the biggest American companies, through its main product – Greek-style yogurt — which it started producing in 2007.