Osman Kibar

Osman Kibar (born 1974, İzmir) is a Turkish-American billionaire. He is the founder of the biotechnology firm Samumed.[1][2][3]

Early life and education

Kibar was born in 1974, the grandson of Osman Kibar, the mayor of İzmir from 1964 to 1973.[4] His father, Seli Kibar, was an economist.[5]

He attended İzmir Gazipaşa Primary School[6] and then Robert College. For college, he moved to the United States to attend a 3-2 program, studying economics at Pomona College[7] and electrical engineering at Caltech, and receiving a bachelor degree from both. He did his masters and doctorate on biophotonics at UC San Diego.

Career

In the late 1990s, when he was finishing his doctorate, he invented a cancer diagnosis system, which he turned into a company called Genoptix. The company went public a few years later, and was purchased by Novartis in 2011 for $476 million.

After completing his education, Kibar moved to New York City, where he worked for the hedge fund sponsor Pequot Capital.

He subsequently moved back to San Diego and in August 2011 founded a biotechnology company named Wintherix with an investment of $3.5 million from his friend Cevdet Samikoğlu.[6] He later renamed the company Samumed.[4] Its investors include Ali Sabancı and Ergun Özen.

The company researches cures for articular cartilage damage, hair loss, degenerative disc disease, lung tissue regeneration, cancer, psoriasis, damaged tendons, and Alzheimer's disease.[4]

As of November 2020, Kibar has a net worth of $2.9 billion.[8] He ranked eighth on Forbes Turkey's 2017 list of the 100 richest Turks.[9]

Personal life

Kibar is married and has four children.[1][6]

Despite his wealth, he spends money extremely frugally, saying that all the activities he enjoys, such as reading, playing go, and moviegoing, are free.[6] Kibar is also a successful poker player, and won the first tournament he ever entered in 2006.[10]

References
  1. Herper, Matthew (May 10, 2016). "Cure Baldness? Heal Arthritis? Erase Wrinkles? An Unknown Billionaire's Quest To Reverse Aging". Forbes. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  2. "Osman Kibar kimdir?". Milliyet (in Turkish). April 15, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  3. Amirah, Al Idrus (August 15, 2019). "In conversation with Samumed CEO Osman Kibar: Drugging Wnt, restoring youth and unconventional capital". FierceBiotech. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  4. "50 milyar $'a koşan türk" (in Turkish). capital.com.tr. December 10, 2018. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  5. "İşadamı Seli Kibar yaşama veda etti" (in Turkish). yeniasir.com.tr. May 29, 2014. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  6. "İzmir'den yola çıktı Amerika'da başardı" (in Turkish). Sözcü (gazete). July 20, 2019. Archived from the original on July 20, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  7. Norwood, Robyn (October 25, 2016). "How to Build a Fountain of Youth (Piece by Piece)". Pomona College Magazine. Pomona College. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  8. "Osman Kibar". Forbes. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  9. "İşte Türkiye'nin en zengin 50 ismi" (in Turkish). CNN Türk. March 3, 2017. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  10. Dunehew, Nick (July 18, 2020). "Osman Kibar Biography". Brooksy. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
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