Turkish Billionaire Succumbs At 94

Tycoon Vehbi Koc, who left school as a teen to open a small grocery store and during eight decades amassed Turkey’s most formidable financial empire, died Sunday. He was 94.

Koc’s holdings include scores of companies, from banking to insurance to tourism, and joint ventures with large foreign businesses. Last year, his companies, which collectively employ about 40,000 people, exported $1 billion in goods and services.

Also a philanthropist, Koc spent billions on educational facilities and medical research.

Koc also campaigned for family planning, blaming Turkey’s social and financial problems on the growth of its population, currently about 63 million.