Husnu Ozyegin, Chairman, Finansbank

Before he left Turkey for the US to study civil engineering at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Husnu Ozyegin bought a notebook and started keeping his accounts.

The first entry was made on July 11, 1963 under the heading “my financial standing”, and consisted of the following list:

• 1,000 Swiss francs

• 2,350 Turkish liras

• 2,000 Italian lire

• 100 American dollars

• 120 Deutschmarks

• 100 French francs

• 24 American dollars (in coin)

“With so little money to start with I thought I might spend less if I actually put down every cent I spent,” he says.