Stavros Spyrou Niarchos

Stavros Niarchos was a Greek billionaire who built a fortune in the shipping industry. He was born in Athens in 1909 to a wealthy family of merchants and shipowners. He studied law at the University of Athens and then joined his maternal uncles' grain business. He persuaded them to invest in their own ships and soon became involved in the shipping industry. Niarchos served as a naval officer in World War II, during which he lost part of his fleet. He used the insurance money to rebuild his fleet and founded Niarchos Ltd., an international shipping company that operated more than 80 tankers worldwide. He was a pioneer in the construction of supertankers, which could carry large amounts of oil across the oceans. He competed with his rival Aristotle Onassis for the dominance of the global oil market. Niarchos was also a passionate art collector and philanthropist. He amassed a collection of paintings by masters such as Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, and Matisse. He donated many of his artworks to museums and institutions around the world. He also established the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the world, which supports projects in the fields of arts and culture, education, health and sports, and social welfare. One of his most notable contributions was the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, which houses the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera. Niarchos was married five times and had five children. His personal life was often marked by scandals and tragedies. He divorced his first wife Helen Sporides after one year of marriage. He married his second wife Melpomene Capparis in 1939 and divorced her in 1947. He married his third wife Eugenia Livanos, the daughter of another shipping magnate and the sister of his first wife Tina Livanos, in 1947 and divorced her in 1965. He married his fourth wife Charlotte Ford, the daughter of Henry Ford II, in 1965 and divorced her in 1967. He married his fifth wife Athina Mary Livanos, the daughter of his third wife Eugenia Livanos and his rival Aristotle Onassis, in 1971. She died of a drug overdose in 1974. Niarchos died of pneumonia in Zurich, Switzerland in 1996 at the age of 86. He is buried in the family tomb in the Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery in Lausanne. At his death, his fortune was estimated to be worth $12 billion.