Tevfik Arif is a Turkish-Kazakh entrepreneur and investor who has spent his career building a diverse portfolio of businesses around the globe. In the United States, Arif's Bayrock Group is best known as one of the primary developers of the high-profile Trump SoHo Tower in Lower Manhattan, licensed under a deal with Donald Trump's organization.

Tevfik Arif: The early years

Tevfik Arif was born to an ethnic Turkish family living in the Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan. While little details are known about his early life, Arif was an ambitious young man with an early interest in business and economics.

Arif pursued his interests, studying at a Moscow university where he received a degree in Economics. After completing his studies, Arif followed a familiar path of many young ambitious men of his generation. He took a job working within the USSR's government Ministry of Commerce and Trade. He worked within the Ministry's Hospitality Management Department for 17 years. During this time, he held many positions including the deputy head of the department.

For many young, educated men living in the Soviet Union, working within the government provided the best opportunity for advancing their careers. Some conspiracy theorists have attempted to use Arif's time working as a civil servant to label him as a Russian official with ties to the current Russian government. However, Arif left his position in the Soviet government decades ago during the dissolution of the communist state.

A rising entrepreneur

Arif pursued opportunities as an entrepreneur during the privatization of industry and the economy that followed the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Partnering with his brothers, Arif's investments were initially concentrated in the natural resources sector in former Soviet republics. He eventually expanded into the automobile and food sectors.

These early ventures enabled Arif to develop a global network of partners and allies. Now an established businessman and entrepreneur, he began to invest in real estate and the tourism industry in Turkey.

Using the knowledge and experience from his time working in the Soviet government's hotel and trade industry, Arif was a pioneering force behind the all-inclusive resort model with projects in Turkey that included the Labada hotel in Antalya and the forerunner to the Rixos Group, a Turkish hospitality & leisure firm.

Tevfik Arif establishes Bayrock Group