Greek businessman
This article is about the Greek shipping magnate. For the ship, see Stavros S Niarchos. For others uses, see Stavros Niarchos (disambiguation).
Stavros Niarchos | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stavros Spyrou Niarchos (1909-07-03)3 July 1909 Athens, Greece |
| Died | 15 April 1996(1996-04-15) (aged 86) Zürich, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Greek |
| Alma mater | University of Athens |
| Occupation | Shipping tycoon |
| Spouses | Helen Sporides (m. 1930; div. 1931)Melpomene Capparis (m. 1939; div. 1947)Eugenia Livanos (m. 1947; div. 1965)Charlotte Ford (m. 1965; div. 1967) |
| Children | |
Stavros Spyrou Niarchos (Greek: Σταύρος Σπύρου Νιάρχος, pronounced[ˈstavrosˈspiru'ɲarxos]; 3 July 1909 – 15 April 1996) was a Greek billionaire shipping tycoon. Starting in 1952, he had the world's biggest supertankers built for his fleet. Propelled by both the Suez Crisis and increasing demand for oil, he and rival Aristotle Onassis became giants in global petroleum shipping.
Niarchos was also a noted thoroughbred horse breeder and racer, several times the leading owner and number one on the French breed list.
Niarchos was born in Athens to a wealthy family, the son of Spyros Niarchos and his wife, Eugenie Koumantaros, a rich heiress, both born in the village of Vamvakou in the Peloponnese.[2]
His parents were naturalized Americans who had owned a department store in Buffalo, New York, before returning to Greece, three months prior to his birth. They returned to Buffalo for a brief time, and the young Stavros attended the Nardin Academy grammar school. They returned, permanently, to Greece, and Stavros studied in the city's best private school, before starting university. He studied law at the University of Athens, after which he went to work for his maternal uncles in the Koumantaros family's grain business. During this period, he became involved in shipping, by convincing his uncles their firm would be more profitable, if it owned its own ships.[3]
Niarchos was a naval officer in World War II, during which time part of the trade fleet he had developed with his uncle was destroyed. He used about two million dollars in insurance settlement to build a new fleet. His most famous asset was the yacht Atlantis, currently known as Issham al Baher,[4] after having been gifted to King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.[5]
He, then, founded Niarchos Ltd., an international shipping company that, at one time, operated more than 80 tankers, worldwide. He and Aristotle Onassis were great shipping rivals. In 1952, high-capacity oil supertankers were built for the competing Niarchos and Onassis fleets, who both claimed to own the largest tanker in the world.[6] In 1955, Vickers Armstrongs Shipbuilders Ltd launched the 30,708 GRT[7]SS Spyros Niarchos. Then the world's largest supertanker, it was named after Niarchos' second son, Spyros, born earlier that year.
In 1956, the Suez Canal Crisis considerably increased the demand for the type of large-tonnage ships that Niarchos owned. Business flourished, and he became a billionaire.
Niarchos was married five times:
From the late 1970s until his death, he was linked to Princess Firyal of Jordan.[11] He was also said to be linked to Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy.[citation needed]
Niarchos had two daughters and three sons:
Niarchos died on 15 April 1996 in Zürich.[1] He is buried in the family tomb in the Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery in Lausanne. His fortune was estimated to be worth $12 billion, at the time of his death.[12] He left 20% of his fortune to a charitable trust to be established in his name and the remainder to his three sons and daughter Maria, by his marriage to Greek shipping heiress, Eugenia Livanos, a nephew, and a great nephew. He notably excluded Elena Ford, his daughter by his ex-wife Charlotte, from his will. She sued the estate in both Swiss and Greek courts for her one-tenth share, estimated to be worth £700 million.[13][12][inconsistent]
Niarchos began investing in thoroughbred horse racing in the early 1950s and won his first stakes race with Pipe of Peace at the Middle Park Stakes. After leaving the business for roughly two decades, he came back in the 1970s and eventually put together a highly successful stable of racehorses that competed in France and the UK.[14] He acquired the Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffardhorse breeding farm in Neuvy-au-Houlme, France and Oak Tree Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, where, in 1984, he bred his most successful horse, Miesque.[15] Niarchos was the leading owner in France twice (1983, 1984) and topped the breeders' list, there, three times (1989, 1993, 1994). His prize horses were all trained by François Boutin, whose skill was a vital element of Niarchos' success in the field.[16][17]
After his death, in 1996, his daughter, Maria Niarchos-Gouazé, took charge of racing operations.[18] She, too, was successful, with her colt, Bago, winning France's most important race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, in 2004, and her filly, Divine Proportions, capturing the 2005 Prix de Diane by winning 9 out of her 10 races, until a serious tendon injury cut the horse's racing career short.