By 1895 , he started his oil operation business . He had to return to the Ottoman Empire , but in 1896 , Gulbenkian and his family fled the empire due to the Hamidian massacres of Armenians . They ended up in Egypt , where Gulbenkian met Alexander Mantashev , a prominent Armenian oil magnate and philanthropist . Mantashev introduced Gulbenkian to influential contacts in Cairo . These new acquaintances included Evelyn Baring , 1st Earl of Cromer . Still in his twenties , Gulbenkian moved to London in 1897 where he arranged deals in the oil business . He became a naturalised British citizen in 1902 . In 1907 , he helped arrange the merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum Company with " Shell " Transport and Trading Company Ltd . Gulbenkian emerged as a major shareholder of the newly formed company , Royal Dutch Shell . His policy of retaining five percent of the shares of the oil companies he developed earned him the nickname " Mr Five Per cent "
Hamidian massacres
Hamidian massacres
Calouste Gulbenkian