Calouste Gulbenkian

Calouste was a man who worked with oil.

He studied how to find oil in school. He helped many companies find oil in new lands. He was so good at this that people called him "Mr. Five Per Cent."

He became very rich from his work. He loved art and collected many beautiful things. He built a large museum to show his art.

He also gave money to help build schools and hospitals. He wanted to help many people around the world.

Calouste Gulbenkian was a businessman from Armenia.

He was very good at working with oil. He studied engineering in London to learn about it.

He helped find oil in the Middle East. He helped set up the Iraq Petroleum Company. He made a deal called the Red Line Agreement. This deal gave him a small part of the company. He owned five percent of the shares. People called him "Mr. Five Per Cent."

He used his money to help many people. He was a philanthropist. This means he gave money to help others. He gave to schools, churches, and hospitals. He built the St Sarkis Armenian Church in London.

He also loved art. He collected over 6,400 pieces of art. Most of his art is in a museum in Portugal. This museum is named after him. It is the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. His foundation still helps with science and art today.

Calouste Gulbenkian was a very successful businessman and a kind giver.

He was born in Constantinople in 1869. His family came from a noble Armenian group. They lived in a place called Talas for a long time. Later, his family moved to the big city of Constantinople. Gulbenkian grew up to be very smart in science. He studied petroleum engineering at King's College London. He graduated in 1887 when he was only 18 years old.

Gulbenkian became famous for his work with oil. He helped people find oil in the Middle East. He looked at maps and talked to engineers to learn about the land. This work helped him show that there was much oil in Mesopotamia. He helped start the Turkish Petroleum Company in 1912. This was a group of large oil companies working together. He also helped create Royal Dutch Shell in 1907. He was very good at making big deals for business.

One of his most famous deals was the Red Line Agreement. This agreement was signed in July 1928. It decided which companies could work with the Iraq Petroleum Company. The deal gave Gulbenkian five percent of the company shares. Because of this, people gave him a special nickname. They called him "Mr. Five Per Cent." He believed it was better to have a small part of a big pie. This way, he could still make a lot of money as the business grew.

Gulbenkian also loved beautiful things and art. He collected more than 6,400 pieces of art during his life. His collection had items from a long time ago to modern times. He even had a huge house in Paris to keep his art.

He gave many pieces to famous places like the British Museum. Today, most of his art is in a museum in Lisbon, Portugal. This museum is called the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. It was started because of his wishes in his will.

Being a philanthropist means using wealth to help others. Gulbenkian was a great philanthropist who helped many people. He gave money to build schools, hospitals, and churches. He built the St Sarkis Armenian Church in London in 1923. He also helped many Armenian families and refugees. In 1956, his foundation was started in Portugal. This foundation still helps with science, art, and education today. It is one of the largest foundations in Europe.

Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian was a prominent Armenian businessman and a dedicated philanthropist.

He is most famous for his role in opening the petroleum reserves of the Middle East to Western development. By negotiating complex deals, he helped ensure that oil from regions like Iraq could be accessed and used globally. Beyond his business success, he used his vast wealth to support many different causes. He established foundations that continue to promote science, education, and the arts today. His life was defined by both his strategic mind in industry and his generous spirit in charity.

Gulbenkian's journey into the oil industry began with his education and early research. After studying petroleum engineering at King's College London, he graduated with a first-class degree in 1887.

He traveled to Baku to study the Russian oil industry firsthand. Later, he prepared an important oil survey of Mesopotamia. To do this, he studied travel books and interviewed railroad engineers working on the Baghdad Railway. This research convinced Ottoman officials that massive oil deposits existed in the region. This knowledge allowed him to begin his own oil operations business by 1895.

His business career involved forming large groups of companies to manage oil rights. In 1907, he helped arrange the merger of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and the Shell Transport and Trading Company. This created the major corporation known as Royal Dutch Shell, in which Gulbenkian became a major shareholder. In 1912, he was the driving force behind the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPC). This was a consortium of large European companies designed to explore oil in Ottoman Mesopotamia. He carefully managed the shares of these companies to ensure his own continued involvement and profit.

One of his most significant achievements was the Red Line Agreement of July 1928.

This agreement was signed to determine which companies could invest in the TPC, which became the Iraq Petroleum Company in 1929. The agreement reserved a fixed 5% of the shares for Gulbenkian. Because of this consistent ownership, he earned the famous nickname "Mr. Five Per Cent." Gulbenkian believed in a specific strategy for his wealth. He famously said it was better to have a small piece of a big pie than a big piece of a small one. This philosophy allowed him to become one of the wealthiest people in the world.

Gulbenkian was also a prolific collector of fine art. He amassed a massive collection of over 6,400 pieces during his lifetime. His collection included works ranging from ancient antiquity to the 20th century. He kept much of this art in his large home on Avenue d'Iéna in Paris. He even commissioned more than 140 works from the artist René Lalique. While some pieces were lent to the British Museum or the National Gallery, most of his collection is now housed in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, Portugal. This museum was created through his will to display his treasures to the public.

As a philanthropist, Gulbenkian focused heavily on helping the Armenian community.

He built the St Sarkis Armenian Church in London between 1922 and 1923 as a memorial to his parents. He also provided financial support to hospitals, schools, and churches. For example, he helped establish a library at St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem that holds over 100,000 books. He also supported settlements for refugees of the Armenian genocide. He even used the profits from his 5% oil shares to help Armenian families. His generosity was intended to provide both spiritual and physical support to those in need.

In 1956, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation was established in Portugal through his bequest.

This private foundation was created to continue his work in arts, charity, education, and science. It has grown to become one of the largest foundations in Europe. The foundation remains a major force in supporting cultural and scientific progress across the globe. Even after his death in 1955, his influence continues through the institutions and collections he left behind. His legacy connects the history of global energy to the modern world of international philanthropy.