Armenians have always punched above their weight. For a small nation — and a diaspora scattered across the globe after the Genocide — the list of Armenian founders, inventors, and billionaires behind some of the world's most recognized brands is nothing short of remarkable. From biotech breakthroughs to Hollywood empires to your bathroom faucet, Armenian hands have shaped more of the modern world than most people realize.
Here are eight brands and companies you might not have known were built by Armenians.
1. Moderna — Noubar Afeyan
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, one company moved faster than any other to develop a vaccine: Moderna. What fewer people know is that its co-founder and chairman is Noubar Afeyan — a Lebanese-born Armenian-American who built one of the most powerful biotech engines in the world.
Afeyan was born in Beirut to Armenian parents and immigrated to North America as a teenager. He eventually earned his PhD from MIT and went on to found Flagship Pioneering, the venture capital firm that created Moderna from scratch in 2010. Through Flagship, Afeyan has co-founded more than 100 biotech companies. Moderna's mRNA vaccine was administered to hundreds of millions of people worldwide — arguably one of the most impactful medical achievements of the 21st century, and one with an Armenian fingerprint on it.
2. MGM Resorts & MGM Studios — Kirk Kerkorian
Kirk Kerkorian is one of the most fascinating self-made billionaires in American history — and he was the son of Armenian immigrants from the Kirovagan region who settled in Fresno, California.
Kerkorian dropped out of school in 8th grade, taught himself to fly, and started a charter airline. He then turned his attention to Las Vegas, where he built the International Hotel (the largest in the world at the time), the original MGM Grand, and eventually acquired and shaped MGM Resorts International and MGM Studios into global entertainment brands. He also famously acquired major stakes in Chrysler and Ford. When Kerkorian died in 2015 at age 98, he was worth over $3 billion. He was also one of the most generous donors to the Armenian people, contributing hundreds of millions to Armenia and Karabakh over his lifetime.
3. Delta Faucet — Alex Manoogian
There's a decent chance you've used one of Alex Manoogian's inventions today — possibly this morning. Manoogian was born in Smyrna (present-day Izmir, Turkey) to an Armenian family in 1901 and arrived in the United States in 1920 with almost nothing.
In 1929 he founded Masco Corporation, a small auto parts manufacturer in Detroit. But his defining moment came in 1954, when he invented the single-handle faucet — the kind with one lever that controls both hot and cold water. That product became the Delta Faucet, and it changed American plumbing forever. Masco grew into a Fortune 500 company. Manoogian's Delta faucet is still found in tens of millions of American homes today. He was also one of the great philanthropists of the Armenian diaspora, donating tens of millions to Armenian causes.
4. SKIMS & KKW Beauty — Kim Kardashian
Love her or not, Kim Kardashian is one of the most successful self-made businesswomen of her generation — and she has always been deeply proud of her Armenian heritage. Her father Robert Kardashian Sr. was the child of Armenian immigrants from the Kars region of Eastern Turkey.
Kim has visited Armenia, advocated publicly for Genocide recognition, and spoken about what Armenian identity means to her. Her brands reflect her business instincts: SKIMS, the shapewear and clothing brand she launched in 2019, was valued at over $4 billion by 2023 — making it one of the fastest fashion brands to reach that valuation in history. KKW Beauty also generated hundreds of millions in revenue. Whatever you think of the Kardashian machine, the numbers are undeniable.
5. The Gulbenkian Oil Empire — Calouste Gulbenkian
In the early 20th century, one man quietly negotiated himself into owning five percent of all Middle Eastern oil — and his name was Calouste Gulbenkian. Born in 1869 in Constantinople (Istanbul) to a wealthy Armenian merchant family, Gulbenkian became the ultimate oil deal-maker, helping to create what would eventually become the Iraq Petroleum Company and brokering the agreements that brought Western oil companies into the region.
His nickname? "Mr. Five Percent." At his peak, he was considered one of the richest people alive. He spent his final years in Lisbon and left behind the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the world, which continues to fund art, education, and science globally. His collection of art — now housed in the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon — is considered one of the finest private art collections ever assembled.
6. Corporación América — Eduardo Eurnekian
Eduardo Eurnekian is one of the wealthiest Armenians alive, born in Buenos Aires in 1932 to Armenian immigrant parents who had survived the Genocide. He built his fortune first in textiles, then in media, then made the move that would define his legacy: airports.
His company Corporación América Airports manages over 50 airports across six countries, including the main international airport in Buenos Aires and major hubs across Latin America, Europe, and Eurasia. He was also the first private investor in post-Soviet Armenia, and has remained one of the country's most significant foreign investors. Among Armenians, he is one of the most prominent living examples of diaspora success on a global scale.
7. The Cher Brand — Cher
Born Cherilyn Sarkisian in 1946, Cher's father John Sarkisian was Armenian-American, and she has spoken openly about her Armenian roots throughout her career. She is one of the few entertainers to have topped the charts in six consecutive decades, sold over 100 million records worldwide, and won an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy, and a Tony.
Cher is more than a musician — she is a brand, a phenomenon, and a cultural institution. Her influence on fashion, music, film, and television is immeasurable. And behind that sequined curtain is an Armenian-American woman who never stopped working, never stopped reinventing, and never stopped being impossible to ignore.
8. Alvin and the Chipmunks — Ross Bagdasarian Sr.
One of the most beloved animated franchises in American history was dreamed up by Ross Bagdasarian Sr., an Armenian-American entertainer from Fresno, California. In 1958, he recorded "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" — creating the chipmunk voices by speeding up recordings — and it hit #1 on the Billboard chart in weeks.
What followed became a multigenerational empire: the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise has spawned TV series, four major Hollywood films, and merchandise enjoyed by children around the world. Bagdasarian's son, Ross Bagdasarian Jr., has continued to run the brand to this day. Not bad for a kid from the Armenian community in Fresno.
The thread running through all of these stories is survival, reinvention, and ambition. Many of these founders came from families that experienced the Armenian Genocide, immigrated to countries where they knew no one, and built something extraordinary from nothing. That's not a coincidence — it's a culture.
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