Aristotle Onasis
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; , ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine
business magnate A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
. He amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was married to
Athina Mary Livanos Athina Mary "Tina" Onassis Niarchos (; , ; 19 March 1929 – 10 October 1974) was an English-born Greek-French socialite and shipping heiress, the second daughter of the Greek shipping magnate Stavros Livanos and Arietta Zafirakis. She was kno ...
, had a long-standing affair with opera singer
Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 â€“ September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...
and was married to American former First Lady
Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...
. Onassis was born in
Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...
in the Ottoman Empire to
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
parents and fled the city with his family to Greece in 1922 in the wake of the
burning of Smyrna The burning of Smyrna (, "Smyrna Catastrophe"; , "1922 İzmir Fire"; , ''Zmyuṙnio Mets Hrdeh'') destroyed much of the port city of Smyrna (modern İzmir, Turkey) in September 1922. Eyewitness reports state that the fire began on 13 September 1 ...
. He moved to Argentina in 1923 and established himself as a tobacco trader and later a shipping owner during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Moving to Monaco, Onassis fought Prince
Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years. Rainier was born at the Prince's Pala ...
for economic control of the country through his ownership of
SBM A Magellanic spiral galaxy is a spiral galaxy with only one Spiral galaxy#Spiral arms, spiral arm. Magellanic spiral galaxies are classified as the type Sm (with sub-categories SAm, SBm, SABm); the prototype galaxy and namesake for Magellanic spi ...
and its
Monte Carlo Casino The Monte Carlo Casino, officially named Casino de Monte-Carlo, is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monaco. It includes a casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. The Casino de Monte-Carlo ...
. In the mid-1950s, he sought to secure an oil shipping arrangement with Saudi Arabia and engaged in whaling expeditions. In the 1960s, Onassis attempted to establish a large investment contract—Project Omega—with the
Greek military junta The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a right-wing military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. On 21 April 1967, a group of colonels with CIA backing overthrew the caretaker government a month before scheduled elections wh ...
and he sold
Olympic Airways Olympic Airlines (, ''Olympiakés Aerogrammés'' – OA), formerly named Olympic Airways, was the flag carrier airline of Greece. The airline's head office was located in Athens. The airline operated services to 37 domestic destinations and ...
, which he had founded in 1957. He was greatly affected by the death of his son,
Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...
, in 1973 and died two years later.


Early life


Ottoman Empire

Aristotle Socrates Onassis was born in 1906 in
KarataÅŸ KarataÅŸ (Turkish language, Turkish for ''black stone'') is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Adana Province, Turkey. Its area is 862 km2, and its population is 23,499 (2022). The town itself has 10,293 inhabitants. It is o ...
, a suburb of the Ottoman port city of
Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...
(now
İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...
, Turkey) in
Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
to
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
parents Socrates Onassis and Penelope Dologlou. Aristotle had one sister, Artemis, and two half-sisters, Kalliroi and Merope, by his father's second marriage following Penelope's death (1912). Socrates Onassis became a successful shipping entrepreneur and sent his children to prestigious schools. When Aristotle graduated from the local Evangelical Greek School at the age of 16, he spoke four languages: Greek (his native language), Turkish, Spanish, and English. Smyrna was occupied by
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
(1919–1922) in the aftermath of the Allied victory in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, but then Smyrna was re-taken by Turkey during the
Greco-Turkish War (1919–22) There have been several Greco-Turkish Wars: * Orlov revolt (1770) Greeks' first major, organized Revolt against the Ottoman Empire with the support of Russia *Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), against the Ottoman Empire * First Greco-Turkish ...
. The Onassis family's substantial property holdings were lost, causing them to become
refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
fleeing to Greece after the
Great fire of Smyrna The burning of Smyrna (, "Smyrna Catastrophe"; , "1922 İzmir Fire"; , ''Zmyuṙnio Mets Hrdeh'') destroyed much of the port city of Smyrna (modern İzmir, Turkey) in September 1922. Eyewitness reports state that the fire began on 13 September 1 ...
in 1922. During this period, Onassis lost three uncles, an aunt and her husband, Chrysostomos Konialidis and their daughter, who were burned to death in a church in
Akhisar Akhisar () is a municipality and district of Manisa Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,645 km2, and its population is 177,419 (2022). It is the site of the ancient city of Thyatira. With archaeological findings that are proving settlements go ...
where 500 Christians were seeking shelter from the Great Fire of Smyrna. The Asia Minor catastrophe in 1922 was devastating for the Onassis family. His father was imprisoned and his business was transferred to Turkish ownership. The rest of the family fled to Greece where they had to stay in an outdoor refugee camp.


Argentina

In 1923, Onassis returned to Istanbul with $250 in his pocket. In August of that year, he arrived in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, Argentina, by
Nansen passport Nansen passports, originally and officially stateless persons passports, were internationally recognized refugee travel documents from 1922 to 1938, first issued by the League of Nations's Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees to stateles ...
, and got his first job as a telephone operator with the British United River Plate Telephone Company,Hoenig, Gary (16 March 1975) "Headliners, Aristotle Onassis is Dead". ''New York Times'' while following studies in commerce and port-duty administration at ''Aduanas Argentinas''. He later became an entrepreneur, creating an Argentine import-export company, going into business for himself and making a fortune importing English-Turkish tobacco to Argentina. He reportedly told
Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 â€“ September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...
that he made his fortune in Buenos Aires by forming a shipping company used for trafficking heroin. He obtained Argentine citizenship in 1929. Eventually he established his first shipping trading company in Buenos Aires, Astilleros Onassis. After gaining his first fortune in Argentina, he expanded his shipping business worldwide and relocated to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, United States, where he built up his shipping businesses empire while keeping offices in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
and
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
.The Diva and the Tycoon"
by Sally Bedell Smith, New York Times, 5 November 2000
His legacy in Buenos Aires was the creation of a shipping empire and a Hellenic Culture Fund providing youth scholarships and an academic international exchange program between
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
,
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
; the programs are funded and administered by the
Onassis Foundation The Alexander S. Onassis Foundation (), commonly known as Onassis Foundation () is a public benefit foundation based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. It was established by Aristotle Onassis in his will in Liechtenstein in order to honor the memory of his ...
and were eventually under the managing direction of his daughter
Christina Onassis Christina Onassis (; 11 December 1950 – 19 November 1988) was a Greek-Argentine businesswoman, socialite and heiress to the Onassis fortune. She was the only daughter of Aristotle Onassis and Athina Mary "Tina" Livanos. Early life and family ...
.


Business


Shipping

Onassis built up a fleet of freighters and
tankers Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanke ...
that eventually exceeded seventy vessels. Most of the fleet operated under
flags of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) refers to a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag ...
where laws and regulations are looser than those of the owners' country. More austere regulations in countries such as the United States, which afforded higher wages and safety standards, allowed access to domestic routes with higher freight rates but at far greater running expense. As was then common practice in international shipping, Onassis's fleet had mostly Panamanian and Liberian flags and sailed tax-free while operating at low cost. This and his astute business sense helped Onassis earn handsome profits in the highly competitive shipping market. Onassis made large profits when the
Big Oil Big Oil is a name sometimes used to describe the world's six or seven largest List of corporations by market capitalization#Publicly traded companies, publicly traded and investor-owned list of oil companies, oil and gas companies, also known ...
companies like
Mobil Mobil Oil Corporation, now known as just Mobil, is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil, formerly known as Exxon, which took its current name after history of ExxonMobil#merger, it and Mobil merge ...
, Socony, and
Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Independ ...
signed long-term contracts known as time charters at fixed prices before the stock market fell. The high profitability of the Onassis fleet has been attributed in large part to his disregard for standards that normally govern international shipping. For example, after his Liberian-registered tanker ran aground and spilled oil into
Chedabucto Bay Chedabucto Bay is a large bay on the eastern coast of mainland Nova Scotia between the Atlantic Ocean and the Strait of Canso next to Guysborough County. At the entrance to Chedabucto Bay is the community of Canso at the head is the communi ...
,
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
in 1970, still the most significant oil spill off Canada's East Coast (about 25% of the amount spilled by the ''
Exxon Valdez ''Exxon Valdez'' was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound, spilling her cargo of crude oil into the sea. On 24 March 1989, while owned by the former Exxon Shipping Company, captained by Joseph Haz ...
'' in Alaska in 1989), there was a
Commission of Inquiry A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equiv ...
. Led by Patrick McTaggart-Cowan, executive director of the
Science Council of Canada The Science Council of Canada (SCC) was a Canadian governmental advisory board existing from 1966 to 1993. It originally had 25 scientists and senior civil servants, later expanded to 40 natural and physical scientists, with the civil servants remov ...
, the Commission found that the ''Arrow'' had been operating with almost none of its navigation equipment serviceable: "
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
had ceased to function an hour before the ship struck; the
echo sounder Echo sounding or depth sounding is the use of sonar for ranging, normally to determine the depth of water (bathymetry). It involves transmitting acoustic waves into water and recording the time interval between emission and return of a pulse; ...
had not been in working condition for two months; and the
gyrocompass A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass which is based on a fast-spinning disc and the rotation of the Earth (or another planetary body if used elsewhere in the universe) to find geographical Direction (geometry), direction automaticall ...
... had a permanent error of three degrees west. The officer on watch at the time of the accident, the ship's third officer, "had no license" and none of the crew had any navigational skill except the master, "and there are even doubts about his ability."


Monaco

Onassis arrived in the Mediterranean principality of
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
in 1953 and began to purchase the shares of Monaco's
Société des bains de mer de Monaco The Société des Bains de Mer (SBM; ), officially the Société Anonyme des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers à Monaco (; ), is a publicly traded company registered in the Principality of Monaco. SBM owns and manages the Monte Carlo Casi ...
(SBM) via the use of
front companies A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gro ...
in the
tax haven A tax haven is a term, often used pejoratively, to describe a place with very low tax rates for Domicile (law), non-domiciled investors, even if the official rates may be higher. In some older definitions, a tax haven also offers Bank secrecy, ...
of Panama, and took control of the organisation in the summer of that year. Onassis moved his headquarters into the Old Sporting Club on Monaco's Avenue d'Ostende shortly after taking control of the SBM. The SBM was a significant owner of property in Monaco: its assets included the
Monte Carlo Casino The Monte Carlo Casino, officially named Casino de Monte-Carlo, is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monaco. It includes a casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. The Casino de Monte-Carlo ...
, the Monaco Yacht Club, the
Hôtel de Paris The Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo is a luxury hotel that is located at Place du Casino in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was opened in 1864 as part of the development of Monaco by the Société des Bains de Mer de Monaco, Société des Bains de Mer. In M ...
and a third of the country's acreage. Onassis's takeover of the SBM was initially welcomed by Monaco's ruler,
Prince Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to Funeral of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 year ...
as the country required investment, but Onassis and Rainier's relationship had deteriorated by 1962 in the wake of the boycott of Monaco by the French President,
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
. Onassis and Rainier had differing visions for Monaco. Onassis wished the country to remain a resort for an exclusive clientele, but Rainier wished to build hotels and attract a greater number of tourists. Monaco had become less attractive as a tax haven in the wake of France's actions, and Rainier urged Onassis to invest in the construction of hotels. Onassis was reluctant to invest in hotels without a guarantee from Rainier that no other competing hotel development would be permitted, but promised to build two hotels and an apartment block. Unwilling to give Onassis his guarantee, Rainier used his veto to cancel the entire hotel project, and publicly attacked SBM for their 'bad faith' on television, implicitly criticising Onassis. Rainier and Onassis remained at odds over the direction of the company for several years and in June 1966 Rainier approved a plan to create 600,000 new shares in SBM to be permanently held by the state, which reduced Onassis's stake from 52% to under a third. In the Supreme Court of Monaco the share creation was challenged by Onassis who claimed that it was unconstitutional, but the court found against him in March 1967. Following the ruling Onassis sold his holdings in SBM to the state of Monaco and left the country. According to Frank Brady in ''Onassis: An Extravagant Life'', Onassis's words about the issue were: "We were gypped."


Saudi Arabia

During the oil boom of the 1950s Onassis was in final discussions with the King of Saudi Arabia for securing a tanker transport deal. Since the Arabian-American Oil Co. (currently, Saudi Arabian Oil Company, but still known as
Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ') or Aramco (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas company that is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. , it is the fourth- lar ...
) had a monopoly on Saudi oil by a concession agreement, the US government was alarmed by the tanker deal. By 1954, a specific U.S. policy for Saudi Arabia, in addition to strengthening the US "special position," was to take "all appropriate measures to bring about the cancellation" of an agreement between the Saudi government and Onassis to transport Saudi oil on his tankers and "in any case, to make the agreement ineffective". oc. 128The arrangement would have ended monopoly control of Saudi Arabia's oil by American oil companies, but was forestalled by the US government. For this reason he became a target of the US government and in 1954, the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
investigated Onassis for fraud against the
U.S. government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...
. He was charged with violating the citizenship provision of the shipping laws which require that all ships displaying the U.S. flag be owned by U.S. citizens. Onassis entered a guilty plea and paid $7 million.


Whaling

Between 1950 and 1956, Onassis had success
whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...
off the west coast of South America. His first expedition made a net profit of US$4.5 million. International agreements limited the number, size and dates between which whales could be taken. The Onassis factory ship and its attendant catcher ships paid little attention to these restrictions. ''The Norwegian Whaling Gazette'' made accusations based on sailors' testimonials, such as one given by Bruno Schalaghecke, who worked on the factory ship ''Olympic Challenger'': "Pieces of fresh meat from the 124 whales we killed yesterday still remains on the deck. Among them all, just one could be considered adult. All animals that pass within the range of the harpoon are killed in cold blood." In 1954 the government of Peru claimed the Onassis fleet were whaling within of the coast of Peru without permission and sent naval vessels to intercept them. Peruvian air force planes were also sent and dropped bombs that exploded near the factory ship. Most vessels in the fleet were captured by the Peruvian vessels and taken to Payta where they were interned. The venture came to an end after the business was sold to Kyokuyo Hogei Kaisha Whaling Company, one of the biggest Japanese whaling companies, for $8.5 million. Norwegian authorities suspected the involvement of
Hjalmar Schacht Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht (); 22 January 1877 â€“ 3 June 1970) was a German economist, banker, politician, and co-founder of the German Democratic Party. He served as the Currency Commissioner and President of the Reichsbank during the ...
in Onassis's whaling enterprises. Schacht had previously been connected with Onassis's Saudi Arabian deals.


Olympic Airways

In 1956, Greek airlines in general faced economic difficulties, whereby companies like TAE were affected by strikes and cash shortage. The Greek government decided to give this and other companies to the private sector, and, on 30 July 1956, Onassis signed a contract granting him the operational rights to the Greek air transport industry. When Onassis heard during the negotiations that he would not be able to use the five Olympic rings in his logo due to copyright issues, he simply decided to add a sixth ring. Operation effectively started in 1957, with one DC-4, two DC-6s and 13 DC-3s. The following year saw 244,000 passengers transported. The agreement lasted until 10 December 1974, when a number of factors (namely, a series of strikes, shortage of passengers, fuel price increase, and a law from the new Greek government forbidding Olympic Airways to fire employees) led Onassis to terminate his contract. Following this event, Paul Ioannidis, a high-ranking director from Olympic Airways, said the following of Onassis: "Deep down, edid not want to relinquish Olympic Airways. He found it flattering to own an airline. It was something in which he took deep pride. It was his accomplishment. He was married to the sea, but Olympic was his mistress. We used to say that he would spend all the money he made at sea with his mistress in the sky." Onassis's time at the head of Olympic Airways is known as a golden era, due to investments he made in training and the acquisition of cutting-edge technology. For example, in 1959, he signed a deal with
De Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited (pronounced , ) was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of North London. Operations were later moved to ...
to buy four Comet 4B jets. Onassis was also renowned for his attention to service quality, which led him to buy gold-plated utensils and candles for the dining service of the first-class section. During 1974, the last year of Onassis's involvement with the company, Olympic Airways transported 2.5 million passengers and had a work force of 7,356 persons. At the time, his ownership of Olympic Airways distinguished Onassis as one of only two men in the world to own a private airline, the other being
Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...
of
TWA The Twa, often referred to as Batwa or Mutwa (singular), are indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of the Great Lakes Region in Central Africa, recognized as some of the earliest inhabitants of the area. Historically and academically, the term †...
.


Investments

Onassis was involved in the privatization of the Greek national airline and founded the privatized Olympic Airways (today
Olympic Air Olympic Air S.A. () is a regional airline and a subsidiary of the Greece, Greek carrier Aegean Airlines. It was formed as part of the privatization of the former Greek national carrier Olympic Airlines, a company that carried the name Olympic A ...
) in 1957. Stocks accounted for one-third of his capital, held in oil companies in the United States, the Middle East, and Venezuela. He also owned additional shares that secured his control of 95 multinational businesses in five continents. He owned gold-processing plants in Argentina and Uruguay and a large share in an airline in Latin America and $4 million worth of investments in Brazil. Also, he owned companies like Olympic Maritime and Olympic Tourist; a chemical company in Persia; apartments in Paris, London, Monte Carlo, Athens, and Acapulco; a castle in South France; the
Olympic Tower Olympic Tower is a 51-story, building at 641 and 645 Fifth Avenue, between 51st and 52nd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the mixed-use development contains cond ...
(a 52-storey high-rise in Manhattan); another building in Sutton Place; Olympic Airways and Air Navigation; the island of
Skorpios Skorpios or Scorpios (, ) is a private island in the Ionian Sea off the western coast of Greece and just to the east of the island of Lefkada. The 2011 census reported a population of five inhabitants. Administratively it is part of the munici ...
; the luxury yacht ''
Christina O ''Christina O'' is a private motor yacht that once belonged to billionaire Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis. At 99.13 metres long, she was the 59th largest yacht in the world . History The ship originally served as a Canadian anti-submarine ...
'' and, finally, deposit accounts and accounts in treasuries in 217 banks in the whole world.


Project Omega

In October 1968, amidst the
Greek military junta The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a right-wing military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. On 21 April 1967, a group of colonels with CIA backing overthrew the caretaker government a month before scheduled elections wh ...
and shortly after his marriage to
Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...
, Onassis announced the launch of Project Omega, a $400 million investment program that aimed to build considerable industrial infrastructure in Greece including an oil refinery and aluminum smelter. Onassis had cultivated Greek junta dictator
Georgios Papadopoulos Georgios Papadopoulos (; ; 5 May 1919 – 27 June 1999) was a Greek military officer and dictator who led a coup d'etat in Greece in 1967 and became the country's Prime Minister from 1967 to 1973. He also was the President of Greece under th ...
, for his assistance with the scheme, loaning Papadopoulos the use of his villa and buying dresses for his wife. The project was financially supported by the American bank First National City, and Onassis's American financial supporters eventually tired of the unfavourable terms demanded by him. The project was heavily criticized by people such as
Helen Vlachos Helen Vlachos (, ; , ; 18 December 1911 â€“ 14 October 1995) was a Greek journalist, newspaper publishing heiress, proprietor, and anti- junta activist. Soon after the coup of 21 April 1967, she closed down her newspaper ''Kathimerini'' ...
, a journalist from Athens. Another Greek Colonel,
Nikolaos Makarezos Nikolaos Makarezos (; 1919 – 3 August 2009) was a Greek Army officer and one of the masterminds of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. Early life and career He was born in 1919 in the village of Gravia, in the prefecture of Phocis. Af ...
, preferred a deal offered by Onassis's rival,
Stavros Niarchos Stavros Spyrou Niarchos (, ; 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, ...
, and the project was eventually split between them. The failure was due partly to opposition from influential people within the military junta, such as Ioannis-Orlandos Rodinos,
Deputy Minister Deputy minister is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. A deputy minister is positioned in some way "under" a minister, who is a full member of Cabinet, in charge of a particular sta ...
of Economic Coordination, who opposed Onassis's offers in preference to Niarchos.


Relationships and family


Athina Livanos

Onassis married Athina Mary "Tina" Livanos, daughter of shipping magnate
Stavros G. Livanos Stavros George Livanos (; 1887 or 1890 – May 28, 1963), was a Greeks, Greek shipowner, native of the northern Aegean Sea island of Chios, and the founder of the Livanos shipping empire. He was also a rival as well as father-in-law to billionaire ...
and Arietta Zafiraki, on 28 December 1946. Livanos was 17 at the time of their marriage; Onassis was 40. Onassis and Livanos had two children, both born in New York City: a son,
Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...
(1948–1973), and a daughter, Christina (1950–1988). Onassis named his legendary super-yacht, ''
Christina O ''Christina O'' is a private motor yacht that once belonged to billionaire Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis. At 99.13 metres long, she was the 59th largest yacht in the world . History The ship originally served as a Canadian anti-submarine ...
,'' after his daughter. To Onassis, his marriage to Athina was more than the fulfillment of his ambitions. He also felt that the marriage dealt a blow to his father-in-law and the old-money Greek traditionalists who held Onassis in very low esteem. The couple had been living separately, by the mid-1950s, with the beginning of the end of the marriage, according to Onassis' biographer, Peter Evens, coming after Livanos found Onassis in bed with a friend of hers at their home in
Cap d'Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat to the northe ...
, the
Château de la Croë The Château de la Croë () is a large detached villa situated in eight hectares of grounds on the Cap d'Antibes peninsula of the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur), in the Alpes-Maritimes department of Southern France. The classical-style châtea ...
. The house was then acquired by Onassis's brother-in-law and business rival
Stavros Niarchos Stavros Spyrou Niarchos (, ; 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, ...
, who bought it for his wife,
Eugenia Livanos Eugenia Livanos-Niarchos (, ; 1927 – 4 May 1970) was a shipping heiress and the third wife of Greek shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos. She was the daughter of shipping magnate Stavros G. Livanos and his wife Arietta Zafirakis. Eugenia and Stavr ...
, Athina's sister. Onassis and Livanos divorced in June 1960, during Onassis's well publicised affair with Maria Callas. Althina would later marry, in October 1971, her older sister Eugenia's widower Stavros Niarchos, who was her first husband Onassis's arch-rival.


Maria Callas

Onassis and legendary opera
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 â€“ September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...
carried on an affair, despite both being married. They met in 1957, during a party in
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
promoted by
Elsa Maxwell Elsa Maxwell (May 24, 1883 – November 1, 1963) was an American gossip columnist and author, songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality and professional hostess renowned for her parties for royalty and high society figures of her day. Max ...
. After this first encounter, Onassis commented to
Spyros Skouras Spyros Panagiotis Skouras (; ; March 28, 1893 – August 16, 1971) was a Greek-American motion picture pioneer and film executive who was the president of 20th Century-Fox from 1942 to 1962. He resigned June 27, 1962, but was chairman of the comp ...
: "There asjust a natural curiosity. After all, we were the most famous Greeks alive, in the world." Callas and Onassis both divorced their spouses but did not marry each other, although their relationship continued for many years.


Jacqueline Kennedy

Onassis was a friend of
Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...
, widow of U.S. President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
. They married on 20 October 1968 on Onassis's private Greek island,
Skorpios Skorpios or Scorpios (, ) is a private island in the Ionian Sea off the western coast of Greece and just to the east of the island of Lefkada. The 2011 census reported a population of five inhabitants. Administratively it is part of the munici ...
. Before the marriage, an agreement was reached between Onassis and
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
, Jacqueline's former brother-in-law. Jacqueline would receive US $3 million, plus US $1 million for each of her two children, to compensate for the US $150,000 that she then received from the Kennedy family trust, which she would lose by re-marrying. Upon Onassis's death, she would also continue to receive US $150,000 each year for the rest of her life. After Onassis's death, Christina settled with Jacqueline for $25 million, in exchange for her not contesting Onassis's will. During their marriage, the Onassises inhabited six residences: his apartment in Paris (88
Avenue Foch The Avenue Foch () is an avenue in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, named after World War I Marshal Ferdinand Foch in 1929. It was previously known as the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne. It is one of the most prestigious streets in Paris, a ...
), her 15-room apartment at
1040 Fifth Avenue 1040 Fifth Avenue (informally known as the 10 40) is a luxury residential housing cooperative on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Overview 1040 is one of the tallest of the limestone-clad apartment houses on Fifth Avenue. The pr ...
in New York City, her horse farm in New Jersey, his house in Athens, his house on
Skorpios Skorpios or Scorpios (, ) is a private island in the Ionian Sea off the western coast of Greece and just to the east of the island of Lefkada. The 2011 census reported a population of five inhabitants. Administratively it is part of the munici ...
and his yacht ''
Christina O ''Christina O'' is a private motor yacht that once belonged to billionaire Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis. At 99.13 metres long, she was the 59th largest yacht in the world . History The ship originally served as a Canadian anti-submarine ...
''. His marriage also resulted, in part, in the popularization of
Gyros Gyros, sometimes anglicized as a gyro (; , ), is meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, then sliced and served wrapped or stuffed in pita bread, along with other ingredients such as tomato, onion, fried potatoes, and tzatziki. In Greece, it is ...
in America. Gyros were one of his favorite foods and Greek places in New York City began to regularly offer them for lunch because of the demand from Aristotle's work meetings. Previously Gyros were little know beyond the
Greek-American Greek Americans ( ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. There is an estimate of 1.2 million Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. According to the US census, 264,066 people o ...
community.


Death and legacy

Onassis died at age 69 on 15 March 1975 at the
American Hospital of Paris The American Hospital of Paris (''Hôpital américain de Paris''), founded in 1906, is a private, not-for-profit, community hospital certified under the French healthcare system. Located in Neuilly-sur-Seine, in the western suburbs of Paris, Fra ...
in
Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...
, France, of respiratory failure, a complication of the
myasthenia gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, ...
from which he had suffered the last years of his life. Onassis was buried on his island of
Skorpios Skorpios or Scorpios (, ) is a private island in the Ionian Sea off the western coast of Greece and just to the east of the island of Lefkada. The 2011 census reported a population of five inhabitants. Administratively it is part of the munici ...
in Greece, alongside his son, Alexander, and his sister, Artemis. Onassis's will established a charitable foundation in memory of his son, the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, which received 45% of Onassis's estate. The remainder of his estate was left to his daughter, Christina. Christina's share has since passed to her only child, Athina, at the time making Athina one of the wealthiest women in the world.
Jacqueline Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular fi ...
also received her share of the estate, settling for a reported $10 million ($26 million according to other sources), which was negotiated by her brother-in-law
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
. This amount would reportedly grow to several hundred million, under the financial stewardship of her companion,
Maurice Tempelsman Maurice Tempelsman (born August 26, 1929) is a Belgian-American businessman, a diamond magnate and merchant. He was the longtime companion of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, former First Lady of the United States. Early life Tempelsman was born o ...
. The
Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...
, which transported Onassis's remains, was later purchased for US $100,000 by an American electrical engineer and turned into an unconventional private residence in
Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County, Oregon, Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many High tech, high-te ...
.


See also

*
Onassis Foundation The Alexander S. Onassis Foundation (), commonly known as Onassis Foundation () is a public benefit foundation based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. It was established by Aristotle Onassis in his will in Liechtenstein in order to honor the memory of his ...
*
Greek shipping Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and has been a key element of Greek economic activity since ancient times. Today, shipping is the country's most important industry w ...
*
Skorpios Skorpios or Scorpios (, ) is a private island in the Ionian Sea off the western coast of Greece and just to the east of the island of Lefkada. The 2011 census reported a population of five inhabitants. Administratively it is part of the munici ...
*
Christina O ''Christina O'' is a private motor yacht that once belonged to billionaire Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis. At 99.13 metres long, she was the 59th largest yacht in the world . History The ship originally served as a Canadian anti-submarine ...
*
Stavros Niarchos Stavros Spyrou Niarchos (, ; 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, ...


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * *


External links

*
Onassis Foundation
Archived from th
original
on 24 June 2015.
FBI file on Onassis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onassis, Aristotle 1906 births 1975 deaths 20th-century Greek businesspeople 20th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Aviation in Greece Bouvier family Burials in Skorpios Businesspeople in aviation Businesspeople in the tobacco industry Deaths from myasthenia gravis Deaths from pneumonia in France Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Greek billionaires Greek businesspeople in shipping Greek chief executives 20th-century Greek diplomats Greek emigrants to Argentina Greek expatriates in France Greek expatriates in Monaco Greek expatriates in the United Kingdom Greek expatriates in the United States Greek refugees Greeks from the Ottoman Empire Livanos family Olympic Airlines Onassis family Smyrniote Greeks Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Argentina People of the Burning of Smyrna