From living in his Toyota Camry to rolling up in a Bugatti: How Iranian refugee went from broke immigrant to millionaire Nashville car businessman
An Iranian refugee has shared his inspiring story of how he grew from a poor immigrant to a millionaire Nashville car businessman – after a series of jobs as a janitor and at Burger King.
Sammy Poori fled Iran in 1989 and eventually made his way to the US with nothing to his name. Now, three decades later, the father-of-two is living the American Dream, with multiple successful companies and more than 20 elite sports cars in his collection.
The 45-year-old Kurdish man settled in Nashville with no money and barely spoke English – but a church that helped him move from Iran got him a job as a hospital janitor.
From there, Sammy saved every penny he could and ended up buying a Toyota Camry for $1,000 — which he ended up sleeping in every night while parked at Walmart.
He went to the gym to shower and freshen up before duty.
Sammy Poory, 45, and his wife Ana to whom he attributes much of his success. “For everything I’ve done over the last 20 years, she’s always been a support. She actually pushes me in a really positive way,” he said
Poori’s hard work and determination have made him the man he is today. He is a successful entrepreneur and has two children Arteen, 14 and Hujin, 21, with his wife Ana
He has always been obsessed with cars – when he bought his $350,000 home, his car collection was over $2 million. He claims his cars have a better return on investment than real estate or his business
Before long, Sammy started working at Burger King, where he built his career and eventually became a chef. But he often had night shifts because his English was not good.
After that, he had a slew of odd jobs – including working at Subway, as a pizza delivery boy, at a Nike store, and a book company.
Sammy told the Tennessee: ‘A guy like me who came out of nowhere and was able to create this on his own, I think it should definitely be a motivation for a lot of people and kids who think this can’t be done.
“The most important thing for me was never to give up. Never stop. Keep working. Be driven. Write down all your goals. I write down everything I want to do and I work very hard.’
While Sammy was toiling, saving money and learning English as a new immigrant, he also found the love of his life.
He met Ana through her brother in May 2000 – and they got engaged on June 26, just five weeks later. On August 26, the beloved couple was married.
Ana, who also brags about their lavish lifestyle on social media, explained how she met her current husband: “We both told each other we were in love at the same time. I told my mother. She was so surprised.
“We don’t know him or his family. He is Kurdish. I am Persian. We can marry whoever we want, but in his family it could have been a problem, but thank God it wasn’t.’
Ana soon became pregnant, which was a wake-up call for Sammy. He realized that he no longer wanted to work for anyone else.
So he bought a beat-up tow truck with this brother-in-law and started his business, asking car dealers for odd jobs.
Sammy eventually launched BBB Auto Sales in 2005 – and with his earnings from it, he was able to start investing in real estate.
His hard work and determination have made him the man he is today. He is a successful entrepreneur and has two children, Arteen, 14, and Hujin, 21.
Sammy Poori, 45, fled Iran in 1989 and eventually made his way to the US with nothing to his name. Now, three decades later, the father-of-two is living the American Dream, with multiple successful companies and more than 20 elite sports cars in his collection
Sammy met Ana through her brother in May 2000 – and they got engaged on June 26, just five weeks later. On August 26, the beloved couple was married
Sammy Poori parks one of his two rare Pagani sports cars at his home
He has always been obsessed with cars – when he bought his $350,000 home, his car collection was over $2 million. He claims his cars have a better return on investment than real estate or his business.
Sammy has two rare Pagani sports cars and Ferraris in his fleet.
He told the Tennessee: “I don’t think I have a car in my entire collection that I’ve ever lost money on.”
Sammy has a multi-million dollar car collection – featuring Porsches, Lamborghinis and Bugatti’s.
Speaking about his vices, he said, ‘I don’t do drugs, I don’t gamble, I don’t do anything. My only hobby is cars.’
In 2007, he became fixated on a car he saw in a showroom: a silver and red Mercedes SLR McLaren.
He said he’d walk by it and say, “One day I’m going to own one.” I think that was my dream car. That’s what really got me going.”
Sammy started buying cars at a car auction and slowly built up his portfolio.
Sammy with his wife Ana and their children Arteen, 14, and Hujin, 21
Sammy and his wife Ana pose in front of a Lamborghini
He added: “I’m a goal-oriented guy, so I was trying to work my way up from that first car.
“I had certain grades I had to hit in my business before I could start buying a $100,000 car. I hit that number and bought an Aston Martin DB9.’
“Eleven years ago we had a house in Brentwood that we bought for $350,000, and my car collection was over $2 million at the time. My wife is a big supporter. She gets it.
“For everything I’ve done over the past 20 years, she’s always been a support. She actually pushes me in a very positive way.’
Despite his immense fleet of impressive cars, Sammy said he never really called himself a collector.
Sammy added: ‘I have set some goals in my life and if I achieve them I will buy that car. It has been my dream car for years, but every year the price goes up.
“When it was first my dream car, it cost $2 million. Today it’s a $10 million car. It may be a dream for the rest of my life.’
He said he sees cars not just for use as a vehicle, but instead they represent an accomplished dream or goal that he is “very proud of.”