THE ONLY HEIR OF SULTAN ABDULHAMID II: A JEWISH DENTIST!

Originally a Polish Jew, he had settled in Istanbul and worked as a dentist. His mother was a peddler who delivered goods to the palace. Through this connection, he started treating the teeth of the palace residents during Sultan Abdulhamid II’s reign. He was known as "Chief Dentist Sami" and was one of the most intriguing figures of modern history.

A Man for All Eras

According to rumors, Sami Günzberg (1876-1966) was originally a barber. He allegedly obtained a fake dentistry diploma through bribery—no one knew where he had graduated from. Cemal Pasha appointed him as a naval dental officer.

He secured influential positions during the reign of the Ottoman dynasty, the constitutional era under the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), the occupation period under the Allied forces, and later under the Republic and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Thus, he rightfully earned the title “A Man for All Seasons.”

His clinic was located in Beyoğlu, across from the Swedish consulate. The President (Mustafa Kemal) would visit him for treatment and have lunch with him. He was quick with his hands, intelligent, and, despite his hearing impairment, a good conversationalist.

Every week, a private car would be sent to pick him up, and he would be received at Dolmabahçe Palace. In most photographs taken of the President in Istanbul, Sami Günzberg can be seen in the same frame.

He regularly reported on the dynasty members to the government—essentially acting as an informant.

Real or Fake?

Sami Günzberg was an acquaintance of John Bennett, a British intelligence officer stationed in Istanbul who had granted Mustafa Kemal Pasha a visa to travel to Samsun. In 1922, he co-founded a company with Bennett called Abdulhamid Estates Incorporated. They sought cash and shares from Standard Oil Company, the concession holder of Mosul’s oil fields, on behalf of Sultan Abdulhamid II’s princes, but an agreement could not be reached.

Meanwhile, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed, and the entire dynasty was exiled. Their properties within Türkiye were to be liquidated, meaning that if they were not sold within a year, they would be confiscated.

Günzberg traveled within and outside Türkiye, seeking power of attorney from individual members of the dynasty. For those like Prince Selim Efendi who refused, he forged their signatures and prepared fake documents. He acquired and sold some properties, keeping most of the money for himself while sending only a small portion to the rightful owners. For unsold properties, he registered them under his own name.

At one point, he expanded his operations to include petroleum lawsuits, hoping to claim a large share of the Mosul oil fields, which had once belonged to Sultan Abdulhamid II.

A Fortune Watered with Tears

Günzberg’s activities continued until 1949, when they were halted by a landmark decision of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. According to this ruling, all real estate registered under the names of Ottoman sultans was deemed to have been transferred to the state treasury.

The government had already begun to suspect Günzberg, whose wealth was rapidly growing. Since wealth equaled power, İsmet İnönü was wary of the rich. Mustafa Kemal, who had once protected him, was no longer there.

The General Directorate of Security monitored Günzberg and his correspondence with exiled dynasty members for years. Over time, the dynasty also lost trust in him.

By then, however, Günzberg had already amassed his fortune. Gabriel Kurkia, one of Istanbul’s renowned Jewish antique dealers, used to mock the situation, saying, “Sami Günzberg is the sole heir of Abdulhamid.” (Münevver Ayaşlı, Dersaâdet, p. 171)

It was said that Günzberg aspired to high-ranking positions in Israel through his accumulated wealth. If true, he never realized this ambition, as both he and his sister, Lili (1891-1969), suffered from severe illnesses and passed away in great pain in Istanbul. Many saw this as divine retribution for his deeds.

The Fate of Trusting a Dentist

Initially, the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the dynasty, affirming that property rights could not be violated by any law. Immediately, the heirs of Sultan Abdulhamid II transferred 13 pieces of real estate to their names and, fearing further legal troubles, sold their shares. The buyer was Sami Günzberg’s sister, Lili.

After the exile, Günzberg and his sister visited the wives of the Ottoman sultans who had remained in Türkiye, claiming that they could reclaim their confiscated properties. They collected powers of attorney and filed lawsuits.

Desperate and impoverished, the women had no choice but to agree. Since Günzberg had been the palace’s dentist, they were familiar with him and trusted him.

When he won these lawsuits, he transferred the properties to himself or his sister while giving the heirs only small advance payments as hush money to maintain their trust.

The sultans’ wives, who had never owned wealth or even understood money, remained unaware of the schemes or were powerless to act.

The Torched Mansion

Sultan Abdulhamid II’s wife, Müşfika Kadınefendi, lived in the selamlık (men’s quarters) of a mansion at 53 Serencebey Yokuşu with a few loyal palace servants. This mansion had been purchased by Prince Selim Efendi, but before he could fully pay off the debt, the dynasty was exiled.

Günzberg seized the mansion, along with other properties belonging to Sultan Abdulhamid II. He registered them under his sister Lili’s name. He allowed Müşfika Kadınefendi to stay in the mansion’s annex free of charge, while leasing the main building to a company.

When the female heirs of Selim Efendi returned to Türkiye after the 1952 law permitting their return and filed a lawsuit, the mansion mysteriously burned down one night. It was rumored that Günzberg had arranged for it to be set on fire.

A Series of Tragic Events

Sami Günzberg obtained a power of attorney to sell the mansion in Feneryolu, which had been purchased in 1910 by Prince Abdulkadir, the son of Sultan Abdulhamid II. But he went even further—exploiting the prince’s trust or carelessness, he made him sign a paper stating, “I have sold it and received the payment.”

That same year, he sold the mansion to Ikbal Hanım, the former wife of Egypt’s Khedive Abbas Hilmi Pasha, for 18,000 liras—but never sent a single penny to the prince.

After a long period of waiting and correspondence, Prince Abdulkadir finally sent a telegram to the then President Mustafa Kemal complaining about the situation. Mustafa Kemal summoned his close friend Günzberg for an explanation. Günzberg dismissed the complaint, saying, “These are degenerate people. I sold it and gave him the money. Here is his signature.”

But he did not stop there. He quickly sold the prince’s land in Çamlıca and transferred his shares in Mosul oil to an American petroleum company.

Still, he was “merciful” enough to send the prince small, irregular payments over ten years. Meanwhile, his lawyer had already looted the mansion’s antiques.

The prince’s wives later recounted that they had tried to prevent him from giving Sami Günzberg full power of attorney but failed. They did not even learn of the mansion’s sale until years later.

The mansion’s new owner, Ikbal Hanım, furnished it and moved in. During World War II, she traveled to Jerusalem, where she suffered a mental breakdown and committed suicide by jumping from the balcony of the King David Hotel.

Her daughter, Princess Atiye, also suffered a breakdown and, in 1971, died the same way—by jumping down the mansion’s stairwell.

Meanwhile, another of Sultan Abdulhamid II’s exiled sons, Prince Abdurrahim Efendi, had also given Günzberg power of attorney for his properties in Nişantaşı and Çamlıca. But he received little in return.

As Günzberg grew wealthier from the dynasty’s assets, Prince Abdulkadir was forced to work as a weighmaster for the municipality in Sofia. Prince Abdurrahim, unable to endure his worsening poverty, ended his own life.