Gurhan Kiziloz and the power of total ownership

The global digital economy is entering a more unforgiving phase. Across fintech, payments, and consumer platforms, the era of easy capital has given way to margin pressure, tighter regulation, and a sharper focus on profitability. Venture-backed “unicorns” that once prioritised growth at all costs are now retrenching, selling assets, or rethinking their models entirely.

Against this backdrop, a quieter cohort of founders has emerged, operators who rejected the venture capital playbook altogether, choosing instead to build capital-intensive businesses through private funding, operational discipline, and ownership concentration. It is within this context that the recent disclosure surrounding Nexus International has drawn attention.

Gulf News sat down with Gurhan Kiziloz, founder and chairman of Nexus International, following confirmation that the group generated $1.2 billion in revenue in 2025, supporting a personal net worth estimated at $1.7 billion, to discuss his low-profile rise, his contrarian strategy, and why independence has become his defining advantage.

I’ve gone bankrupt about five times, and all of that played out in public. Not in a friendly way either. So now, I want the comeback story to be public too.

I also want the next generation of entrepreneurs to see that you don’t need funding to succeed. There are people who build real businesses with zero debt, smart capital allocation, and persistence. You can still beat VC money with discipline and endurance.

Red tape. Fintech is built to protect monopolies. Everything is designed to slow you down. There’s too much regulation and too many blockers.

Gaming is simpler. Get your licence. Secure your funding. Execute. We’re at war. Game over.

Brutal simplicity. Simplify, simplify, simplify. We don’t allow people to overcomplicate things. The best things in life are simple. We simplified management, systems, and strategy. That’s what created a winning model.

Honestly, no one wanted to give me money. I’d been bankrupted nearly five times. When I was sitting in front of VCs asking for funding at Lanistar, they said no. So I decided I would become the venture capitalist. I would become the VC. That gave me independence and creative freedom. That’s why I don’t take money from anyone. And now that we have leverage, we won’t even look at outside capital unless it’s at least a billion and fully liquid.

It doesn’t slow us down. Each company has its own CEO and teams. There’s room for creativity, manoeuvrability, and vision. Whatever works for that company is what we do. No delays.

I don’t even know what neurodivergent really means. And honestly, I’m bored of the question. Next.

It’s not a valuation. It’s my net worth. And it doesn’t mean much because most of it isn’t cash. When it becomes cash, then it means something.

No. We’re not calling $1.2 billion a milestone. There’s much more scale to build. I’d call $100 billion a turning point. That’s where we’re going.