Kemal Şahin

Şahin (which means falcon in Turkish) was born to a poor family in the village of Taşlıpınar in the Beyşehir district of Konya Province, Turkey.

He finished primary school in his village, secondary school in Beyşehir and high school in Konya. Sahin then went to Germany on a scholarship in 1973, to study metallurgical engineering at RWTH Aachen University for Etibank, a large state-owned mining company. He completed a German-language course, then graduated in 1982, with a Diplom degree.

As a student, Şahin was interested in trade. After finishing university, he established his own textile-importing company, Santex Moden, in 1982, with a starting capital of 5,000 DM. Part of the reason he started the company was to avoid deportation from Germany after he graduated. Within three or four years, he became a German millionaire before his 30th birthday.

Today, he owns 27 production and trading companies, integrated facilities from cotton to cloth, 18 of which are united under Şahinler Holding in Turkey. One of the biggest exporters in Turkey, the group also has its own steam and electric power station, a catering company, a building contractor and a holiday resort in Antalya Province, Turkey. The worldwide Şahinler corporation, with a turnover of one billion Euros, consists of two companies in Germany and one each in the Netherlands, Austria, France, Switzerland, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, United Kingdom, the U.S., and Turkey. The group has about 10,000 employees. Santex Moden ranks 25th in Germany and is among the 100 largest companies in Europe.

Şahin also owns several hotels in the Antalya area through his company.