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
The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
and increasing demand for oil, he and rival
Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; , ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine business magnate. He amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was marri ...
became giants in global petroleum shipping.
Niarchos was also a noted
thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
horse breeder and racer, several times the leading owner and number one on the French breed list.
Early life
Niarchos was born in
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 ...
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
The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...
.
His parents were naturalized Americans who had owned a department store in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, 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.
Shipping career
Niarchos was a
naval officer in
World War II
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 ...
, 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,'' after having been gifted to
King Fahd
Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was King of Saudi Arabia, King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 13 June 1982 until his death in 2005. Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 1 ...
of
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
.
He, then, founded Niarchos Ltd., an international shipping company that, at one time, operated more than 80 tankers, worldwide. He and
Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; , ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine business magnate. He amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was marri ...
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. In 1955,
Vickers Armstrongs Shipbuilders Ltd launched the ''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
A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...
.
Personal life
Marriages
Niarchos was married five times:
* To Helen Sporides in 1930, a daughter of Admiral Constantine Sporides, lasted one year.
* To Melpomene Capparis in 1939, a widow of a Greek diplomat, whom he divorced in 1947.
["An International Marriage". Time. 24 December 1965.]
* To
Eugenia Livanos in 1947, a daughter of shipping magnate
Stavros G. Livanos. They divorced in 1965; she died in 1970 at the age of 44, after an overdose of
barbiturates. During this marriage he had an affair with
Pamela Churchill (later Pamela Harriman).
* To Charlotte Ford in 1965, daughter of tycoon automaker
Henry Ford II, in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
.
Their daughter
Elena Anne Ford was born six months later. When the marriage ended in divorce the following year Niarchos returned to his former wife, Eugenia. No remarriage was necessary, since the couple's 1965 Mexican divorce had not been recognised by
Greek law.
* To
Athina Mary Livanos, his third wife Eugenia's sister, in 1971. Then the Marchioness of Blandford, Athina had been the first wife of
Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; , ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine business magnate. He amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was marri ...
. She died of an overdose in 1974.
From the late 1970s until his death, he was linked to
Princess Firyal of Jordan. He was also said to be linked to
Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy.
Children
Niarchos had two daughters and three sons:
* By his third wife, Eugenia Livanos, whom he never divorced under Greek law:
** Maria Isabella Niarchos, a breeder of thoroughbreds. Married to Stephane Gouazé. Mother of two children: Artur Gouazé and Maia Gouazé
**
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
, art collector. Married in 1984 to his third wife
Victoria Guinness (b. 1960), who is the younger daughter of Patrick Benjamin Guinness and Baroness
Dolores von Fürstenberg-Herdringen. They had four children together: Stavros Niarchos (b. 1985, husband of
Dasha Zhukova), Eugenie Niarchos (b. 1986), Theodorakis "Theo" Niarchos (b. 1991), Electra Niarchos (b. 1995).
**
Spyros (b. 1955) married 1987 (divorced 1999) the Hon.
Daphne Guinness (b. 1967), daughter of
Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne by his second wife Suzanne Lisney, and had three children: Nicolas Stavros Niarchos (b. 1989), Alexis Spyros Niarchos (b. 1991) and Ines Niarchos (b. 1995). Spyros is a good friend of
Prince Ernst August of Hanover, and was best man at his wedding to
Princess Caroline of Monaco.
** Konstantin, or Constantine Niarchos (1962–1999); married firstly 1987 (divorced) Princess Alessandra Borghese, no issue; married secondly the Brazilian artist
Sylvia Martins, no issue. He was the first
Greek to scale
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...
. At his death of a massive cocaine overdose in 1999,
''The Independent'' (UK) reported he had been left one billion dollars as his share of his late father's estate.
* By his fourth wife; Charlotte Ford:
**
Elena Ford (b. 1966) married firstly 1991 (divorced) to Stanley Jozef Olender, married secondly 1996 (divorced) Joseph Daniel Rippolone. With issue.
Death
Niarchos died on 15 April 1996 in
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
.
["Milestones". Time. 29 April 1996.] He is buried in the family tomb in the
Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery in
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
. His fortune was estimated to be worth $12 billion at the time of his death.
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 from his will
Elena Ford, his daughter by his ex-wife, heiress and socialite Charlotte M. Ford. Elena sued the estate in both Swiss and Greek courts for her one-tenth share, estimated to be worth £700 million.
Thoroughbred horse racing
Niarchos began investing in
thoroughbred horse racing
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...
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
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and the
UK. He acquired the
Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...
farm in
Neuvy-au-Houlme, France and Oak Tree Farm in
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
, where, in 1984, he bred his most successful horse,
Miesque. 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
François Boutin (21 January 1937 – 1 February 1995) was a France, French Thoroughbred horse trainer.
The son of a farmer, he was born in the village of Beaunay in the northerly Seine Maritime département. He began riding horses at a young ag ...
, whose skill was a vital element of Niarchos' success in the field.
After his death, in 1996, his daughter, Maria Niarchos-Gouazé, took charge of racing operations.
She, too, was successful, winning France's most important race, the
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, in 2004 with her colt
Bago, 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.
See also
*
Stavros Niarchos Foundation
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niarchos, Stavros
1909 births
1996 deaths
20th-century art collectors
Greek art collectors
Greek billionaires
Greek businesspeople in shipping
Greek expatriates in Switzerland
Greek racehorse owners and breeders
Greek people of Maltese descent
Livanos family
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni
Niarchos family
Businesspeople from Athens
Recipients of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece)
Owners of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners
Owners of Prix Ganay winners