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Once one of Türkiye’s most influential industrialists, Inan Kirac is now at the center of a legal dispute that has gripped the nation.
His secretive marriage to a former Koc Holding executive was recently annulled after a court ruled he lacked the mental capacity to consent.
The decision followed a lawsuit filed by his daughter, Ipek Kirac, who is now the sole heir to her parents’ fortune and a key figure in Türkiye’s corporate world.
What began as a private inheritance case has become a rare public glimpse into the internal crisis of a business dynasty and the private conflicts that deepened following the death of Suna Kirac, one of the country's most respected businesswomen.
Born in 1937 in Eskisehir, Kirac studied in London before joining Koc Holding in 1961 as a junior employee.
Over the following decades, he rose through the ranks to become a central figure in Türkiye’s industrial modernization, particularly in the automotive sector, which was one of the backbones of the country’s export economy.
His leadership within Koc Holding, Türkiye’s largest and most influential conglomerate, placed him at the heart of the country’s corporate elite.
Major roles held by Inan Kirac
Kirac also played a rare dual role as both industrialist and cultural patron. He was behind major philanthropic investments, including the Pera Museum and the Istanbul Research Institute, which continue to shape the city’s intellectual and artistic life.
In recognition of his contributions to business and cultural diplomacy, he was awarded the Legion d’honneur by the French government in 1997.
Ipek Kirac, adopted by Inan and Suna Kirac as an infant, now holds controlling shares in Koc Holding.
She is the youngest billionaire in Türkiye and serves on the board of the family’s cultural foundation.
When her father married 75-year-old Emine Alangoya in December 2024, Ipek discovered the union not through family, but through a digital government platform.
“This decision was extremely difficult,” Ipek wrote. “But my duty to protect my father and my mother’s legacy left me no other choice.”
She filed two lawsuits: one requesting a guardian be appointed for her father, and another demanding the annulment of the marriage, arguing he was mentally unfit and being manipulated.
In February 2025, the court ordered Inan Kirac to appear before Türkiye’s Council of Forensic Medicine.
During his evaluation, Kirac failed to answer basic questions about current events and time. He could not recall the 2023 earthquakes or state the correct hour.
Following the report, two court-appointed lawyers were named as his temporary guardians. His bank accounts, real estate, and business shares were also frozen under legal protection orders.
Key findings from court process:
In May 2025, Emine Alangoya gave an interview to Turkish news outlet Oda TV denying all allegations.
She claimed Kirac had been forcibly taken from his home at 3:00 a.m., with his hands tied, and said she was wrongly accused of exploitation.
“They turned his return home into a so-called kidnapping,” she said. “There is a serious campaign to isolate and control him.”
Alangoya had worked at Koc Holding for 52 years and was personally close to both Suna and Inan Kirac.
At the time of their marriage, she was already managing the foundation where he transferred most of his assets. Alangoya said the foundation was designed to benefit Galatasaray institutions, not herself or her children.
She also described the court-appointed guardians as young and inexperienced, claiming they were acting according to Ipek Kirac’s legal strategy. Multiple restraining orders have been issued against her, which she disputes.
The Kirac family dispute stretches back years. After Suna Kirac’s death in 2020, Ipek inherited all her Koc Holding shares. She was named among the person from Türkiye on Forbes' 2024 list.
Kirac challenged this in court, seeking a share under Türkiye’s inheritance law, but lost. He later disowned his daughter and shifted all his wealth to a private foundation. Alangoya ran the foundation, which was also allegedly staffed with her relatives.
The secret marriage and health report were seen by Ipek Kirac as further attempts to isolate and disempower her. She argued her father had become the target of manipulation and lost control of his life and finances.
“My father’s actions in recent years have shocked and saddened everyone who knows him,” Ipek wrote in a formal statement. “This marriage is not based on love. It is based on control.”
She added that Alangoya had removed all longtime employees and prevented access to Kirac’s private phone. Her legal filings described “a complete invasion of his life.”
Even before the marriage controversy, Kirac’s name had been tied to a string of troubling headlines.
He was reportedly defrauded by a man posing as the French defense minister and became entangled with businessman Sezgin Baran Korkmaz, who now faces criminal charges in the United States. Kirac allegedly handed him a stake in one of his firms during a financial dispute.
Inside the Koc dynasty, these incidents raised concerns about judgment and legacy. One widely discussed reaction came from his brother, Can Kirac, after the dismissal of Ayse Kurt, Inan Kirac’s assistant of 40 years.
In a social media post, Can Kirac wrote:
“I’ve now had time to reflect more calmly on your separation from Inan Kirac. [...] I disapprove of those who separated you from Inan, and I disapprove of Inan for allowing it. As someone who continues to live by the Koc culture, I feel deep regret that he failed to carry the responsibility of being Vehbi Koc’s son-in-law.”
Though no names were mentioned, the post was widely interpreted as an indirect criticism of Emine Alangoya and the shifting dynamics around Inan Kirac in his final years of public life.
The July 18 court decision confirms that Inan Kirac was not mentally fit to marry or manage his finances in late 2024.
The annulment returns Ipek Kirac to full heir status over her parents’ combined fortune and prevents Emine Alangoya or her associates from claiming inheritance rights.
The business implications include:
Ipek Kirac, now worth over $3.8 billion, has become one of the most powerful business figures in Türkiye.
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