Success story: how a homeless immigrant became a New York millionaire

Hakki Akdeniz lives in a small New York apartment, although he can easily afford a penthouse in Manhattan and a Bentley. How he managed to become a millionaire and what he dreams of, tells in a video Voice of America.

“My dreams are not about money”

“My dreams are not about money. I dream about what I want to leave behind, for which I want to live. It's not about how much money you have, ”he said.

Akdeniz explained that he is a very simple person. “Believe it or not, my watch is under $ 100. Can I buy myself a Rolex? Sure. But why do I need it? " He wonders.

History in brief

Hakki is 39 years old. He was born in a large family, where in addition to him there were 16 children.

He moved to Canada as a teenager for opportunities. And in 2001, in search of a better life, he left for New York.

In America, he had a friend who claimed he would help. However, when Hakki arrived at the Big Apple, his friend did not pick up the phone. “I must not forget the day I arrived. He is the most important in my life, ”he emphasized.

First, the man settled in the cheapest motel; when the money ran out, he slept at the station, and then he ended up in a shelter for the homeless. So he lived for three months. “People think that it’s easy to live in a shelter for the homeless, they think that such shelters are freedom. However, this is not at all the case, ”he emphasized.

When did success come

Subsequently, Hakki managed to find a job - he got a job as a dishwasher in a pizzeria. Then I learned how to cut pizza correctly, later - how to cook it.

The man worked 19 hours a day and tried to save every penny. As a result, over time, he bought his own pizzeria. However, a new problem arose - it was not easy to promote business in a city with hundreds of such establishments. So he went to a pizza contest and won it.

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A well-known magazine published an article with photographs depicting Hakki. They started talking about him, and visitors began to come to his pizzeria. “My staff said, 'People walk, bring magazines, take pictures with us on the street, line up,'” Hakki recalls.

“God bless me”

Hakki believes that God blessed him, so he subsequently opened his second institution. Hakka has the nickname Champion - it was he who became the name of the network of his pizzerias. Now it has 14 restaurants.

He himself is quite famous, once even spoke at the UN. Hakki has four million followers on his Instagram page, and a video in which he feeds the homeless has received 400 thousand views.

Helping the homeless

Despite such wild success, Hakki says he never forgot what it was like to be homeless in New York. Therefore, every Wednesday he goes out to help them. “We humans have a beautiful smile, and we should never let it disappear from our face,” says the millionaire. "I say to the homeless," Smile, just smile and hug me. "

Plans for the future

Money comes and goes, says Hakki. Their only value can be measured by what remains after they are spent. Therefore, he already knows what to do with his capital - he wants to build a 6-storey shelter for the homeless, where they can live and study. Because sometimes all a person needs is for someone to believe in him, the author summed up.