Stavros Spyrou Niarchos (Greek: Σταύρος Σπύρου Νιάρχος, pronounced [ˈstavros ˈspiru '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.
Stavros Niarchos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Stavros Spyrou Niarchos 3 July 1909 Athens, Greece |
| Died | 15 April 1996 (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)Charlotte Ford
(m. 1965; div. 1967) |
| Children | |
Niarchos was also a noted thoroughbred horse breeder and racer, several times the leading owner and number one on the French breed list.
Early life
editNiarchos was born in Athens to a wealthy family, 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]
Shipping career
editNiarchos 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,[8] 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.
Personal life
editMarriages
editNiarchos 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,[9] whom he divorced in 1947.[10]
- 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.[10] 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. She died of an overdose in 1974.[citation needed]
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]
Children
editNiarchos 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, 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. 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.[citation needed]
- By his fourth wife; Charlotte Ford:
- Elena Ford (b. 1966) married firstly 1991 (divorced) to Stanley Jozef Olender, married secondly 1996 Joseph Daniel Rippolone (divorced), with issue.
Death
editNiarchos 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]
Thoroughbred horse racing
editNiarchos 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-Buffard horse 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, 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.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Milestones". Time. 29 April 1996.
- ^ Sakalis, Alex (12 October 2022). "Greece reborn: reversing the fortunes of a ghostly mountain village". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ^ Ιδρυμα Σταυροσ Σ. Νιαρχοσ [Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation] (in Greek). Archived from the original on 6 November 2004. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- ^ "16: Issham al Baher". Yachts International. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Top 20 Classic Yachts". Boat International. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ "Biggest Tanker". Time. 22 February 1954.
- ^ Meare, David. "Tirgoviste and Spyros Niarchos – IMO 5337329". ShipSpotting.com. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
- ^ Corlett 1981, p. 25.
- ^ "Tina Niarchos Dead at 45; Wife of Greek Millionaire". The New York Times. 12 October 1974. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ a b "An International Marriage". Time. 24 December 1965.
- ^ Gregorian, Dareh (5 August 2009). "Princess & Plea: Stop Taking Our Dad's Millions!". New York Post. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Celebrity Gossip". Google Groups. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Bearing More Gifts from Golden Greek". 23 October 1997. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
- ^ Voss, Natalie (14 September 2013). "Keeneland Sales Legends: Stavros Niarchos". Paulick Report. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ "Haras de Fresnay-le Buffard For Sale By Niarchos Family". Thoroughbred Daily News. 22 February 2023.
- ^ Moschos, Michael (18 April 1996). "Obituary: Stavros Niarchos". The Independent. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ Thomas, Robert Jr. (18 April 1996). "Stavros Niarchos, Greek Shipping Magnate And the Archrival of Onassis, Is Dead at 86". The New York Times.
- ^ Shuback, Alan (23 November 2007). "Niarchos family's saga of success". Daily Racing Forum. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
Bibliography
edit- Corlett, Ewan (1981). The Revolution in Merchant Shipping 1950–1980. The Ship. Series editor: Basil Greenhill. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office on behalf of the National Maritime Museum. ISBN 0-11-290320-7.
- "Biggest Tanker". Time. 22 February 1954. Archived from the original on 14 May 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- "An International Marriage". Time. 24 December 1965. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- "Milestones". Time. 29 April 1996. Retrieved 14 April 2008.[dead link]
Further reading
edit- "Ship Seizure". Time. 14 September 1953. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- "Cover". Time. 6 August 1956. Archived from the original on 6 December 2006. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- "The New Argonauts". Time. 6 August 1956. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- "The Golden Fleece". Time. 4 November 1957. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- "Oil from Russia". Time. 11 July 1960. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- "When Giants Clash". Time. 21 March 1968. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- "Rivalry of Riches". Time. 12 April 1968. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- "The Burgher from Minnesota". Time. 30 May 1969. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- "The Multi-million Dollar Match". Time. 4 August 1975. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.