Billionaire in Erdogan’s Shadow Thrives From Turkey’s Gold Trade

In a rugged, hilly corner of Turkey’s Anatolia region famous for its ancient ruins, it’s impossible to miss the modernist glass-and-steel headquarters of Ahlatci Metal Refinery.

Fronted by a fountain, sculpted topiaries and a giant glass diamond, the building is a monument to wealth creation under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It’s also testament to how its founder has flourished in the shadow of a leader who molded the country and its economy in his own image.