Stavros Niarchos | |
|---|---|
 Niarchos in 1967 | |
| Born | Stavros Spyrou Niarchos (1909-07-03)3 July 1909 |
| Died | 15 April 1996(1996-04-15) (aged 86) Zürich, Switzerland |
| Alma mater | University of Athens |
| Occupation | Shipping tycoon |
| Spouses | |
| Children | |
Stavros Spyrou Niarchos (Greek:Σταύρος Σπύρου Νιάρχος,pronounced[ˈstavrosˈspiruˈɲarxos]; 3 July 1909 – 15 April 1996) was a Greek billionaire shipping tycoon. Starting in 1952, he had the world's biggestsupertankers built for his fleet. Propelled by both theSuez Crisis and increasing demand for oil, he and rivalAristotle Onassis became giants in global petroleum shipping.
Niarchos was also a notedthoroughbred horse breeder and racer, several times the leading owner and number one on the French breed list.
Niarchos was born inAthens to a wealthy family, the son of Spyros Niarchos and his wife, Eugenie Koumantaros, a rich heiress, both born in the village ofVamvakou in thePeloponnese.[2]
His parents were naturalized Americans who had owned a department store inBuffalo, 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 theNardin 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 theUniversity 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 anaval officer inWorld 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 yachtAtlantis, currently known asIssham al Baher,[4] after having been gifted toKing Fahd ofSaudi Arabia.[5]
He then founded Niarchos Ltd., an international shipping company that, at one time, operated more than 80 tankers worldwide. He andAristotle Onassis were great shipping rivals. In 1952, high-capacity oilsupertankers 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 largestsupertanker,[8] it was named after Niarchos' second son,Spyros, born earlier that year.
In 1956, theSuez Canal Crisis considerably increased the demand for the type of large-tonnage ships that Niarchos owned. Business flourished, and he became abillionaire.
Niarchos was married five times:
From the late 1970s until his death, he was linked toPrincess Firyal of Jordan.[11] He was also said to be linked toPrincess Maria Gabriella of Savoy.[citation needed]
Niarchos had two daughters and three sons:
Niarchos died on 15 April 1996 inZürich.[1] He is buried in the family tomb in theBois-de-Vaux Cemetery inLausanne. 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 from his willElena 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.[13][12][inconsistent]
Niarchos began investing inthoroughbred horse racing in the early 1950s and won his first stakes race with Pipe of Peace at theMiddle 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 inFrance and theUK.[14] He acquired theHaras de Fresnay-le-Buffardhorse breeding farm inNeuvy-au-Houlme, France and Oak Tree Farm inLexington, 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 byFrançois 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, winning France's most important race, thePrix de l'Arc de Triomphe, in 2004 with her coltBago, and her filly,Divine Proportions, capturing the 2005Prix de Diane by winning 9 out of her 10 races, until a serious tendon injury cut the horse's racing career short.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
