Stavros Niarchos

{{About|the Greek shipping magnate|the ship|Stavros S Niarchos|others uses|}}

{{Infobox person

|image = Stavros Niarchos.jpg

|caption =

|birth_name = Stavros Spyrou Niarchos

|birth_date = {{birth_date|1909|7|3|df=y}}

|birth_place = Athens, Greece

|death_date = {{death_date and age|1996|4|15|1909|7|3|df=y}}

|death_place = Zürich, Switzerland

|death_cause =

|resting_place =

|resting_place_coordinates =

|nationality = Greek

|education =

|alma_mater = University of Athens

|occupation = Shipping tycoon

|children = {{hlist|Maria|Philip|Spyros|Konstantin|Elena}}

|relatives =

|website =

|spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Helen Sporides|1930|1931|end=div.}}
{{marriage|Melpomene Capparis |1939|1947|end=div.}}
{{marriage|Eugenia Livanos|1947|1965|end=div.}}
{{marriage|Charlotte Ford|1965|1967|end=div.}}
{{marriage|Athina Mary Livanos|1971|1974|reason=died}}

}}

Stavros Spyrou Niarchos ({{langx|el|Σταύρος Σπύρου Νιάρχος}}, {{IPA|el|ˈstavros ˈspiru 'ɲarxos|pron}}; 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.

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

Niarchos was born in Athens 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2022/oct/12/greece-reborn-vamvakou-peloponnese-village-holidays|title=Greece reborn: reversing the fortunes of a ghostly mountain village|last=Sakalis|first=Alex|date=12 October 2022|work=The Guardian|access-date=9 October 2023}}

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.{{cite web |script-title=el:Ιδρυμα Σταυροσ Σ. Νιαρχοσ |language=el |trans-title=Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation |url=http://www.stavrosniarchosfoundation.org/page/default.asp |access-date=6 October 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041106055821/http://www.stavrosniarchosfoundation.org/page/default.asp |archive-date=6 November 2004 }}

Shipping career

Niarchos 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,{{cite web |title=16: Issham al Baher |url=https://www.yachtsinternational.com/yachts/issham-al-baher |website=Yachts International |date=28 April 2017 |access-date=31 July 2020}} after having been gifted to King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.{{cite web |title=Top 20 Classic Yachts |url=http://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/the-register/top-20-classic-yachts/ |website=Boat International |access-date=18 March 2015}}

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."Biggest Tanker". Time. 22 February 1954. In 1955, Vickers Armstrongs Shipbuilders Ltd launched the {{GRT|30708}}{{cite web |last=Meare |first=David |title=Tirgoviste and Spyros Niarchos – IMO 5337329 |url=http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=1599113 |website=ShipSpotting.com |access-date=19 March 2015}} SS Spyros Niarchos. Then the world's largest supertanker,{{sfn|Corlett|1981|p=25}} 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

=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,{{cite news |date=12 October 1974 |title=Tina Niarchos Dead at 45; Wife of Greek Millionaire |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/12/archives/tina-niarchos-dead-at-45-wife-of-greek-millionaire-sister-died-in.html |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=25 April 2017}} 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. 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|date=November 2019}}

From the late 1970s until his death, he was linked to Princess Firyal of Jordan.{{cite news |last=Gregorian |first=Dareh |date=5 August 2009 |title=Princess & Plea: Stop Taking Our Dad's Millions! |url=https://nypost.com/2009/08/05/princess-plea-stop-taking-our-dads-millions/ |newspaper=New York Post |access-date=31 July 2020}} He was also said to be linked to Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

=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, 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|date=November 2019}}
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."Milestones". Time. 29 April 1996. 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.{{cite web |title=Celebrity Gossip |url=https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/alt.gossip.celebrities/fU8RpyWGye8 |website=Google Groups |access-date=31 July 2020}} 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.{{cite web |date=23 October 1997 |title=Bearing More Gifts from Golden Greek |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-110766009.html |access-date=11 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910051406/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-110766009.html |archive-date=10 September 2016}}{{Inconsistent|date=July 2024|reason=Earlier in the paragraph, an unspecified type of dollars was used as the currency and this is in pounds.}}

Thoroughbred horse racing

Niarchos 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.{{cite web |last=Voss |first=Natalie |date=14 September 2013 |title=Keeneland Sales Legends: Stavros Niarchos |url=http://www.paulickreport.com/news/people/keeneland-sales-legends-stavros-niarchos/ |website=Paulick Report |access-date=18 March 2015}} 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.{{cite web |date=22 February 2023 |title=Haras de Fresnay-le Buffard For Sale By Niarchos Family |url=https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/haras-de-fresnay-le-buffard-for-sale-by-niarchos-family/ |website=Thoroughbred Daily News}} 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.{{cite news |last=Moschos |first=Michael |date=18 April 1996 |title=Obituary: Stavros Niarchos |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-stavros-niarchos-1305512.html |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=18 March 2015}}{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Robert Jr. |date=18 April 1996 |title=Stavros Niarchos, Greek Shipping Magnate And the Archrival of Onassis, Is Dead at 86 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/18/world/stavros-niarchos-greek-shipping-magnate-archrival-onassisis-dead-86.html |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times}}

After his death, in 1996, his daughter, Maria Niarchos-Gouazé, took charge of racing operations.{{cite web |last=Shuback |first=Alan |date=23 November 2007 |title=Niarchos family's saga of success |url=http://www.drf.com/news/niarchos-familys-saga-success |website=Daily Racing Forum |access-date=19 March 2015}} 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.

References

Bibliography

{{cite book |last=Corlett |first=Ewan |others=Series editor: Basil Greenhill |year=1981 |title=The Revolution in Merchant Shipping 1950–1980 |series=The Ship |url=https://archive.org/details/revolutioninmerc0000corl/page/25 |location=London |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office on behalf of the National Maritime Museum |isbn=0-11-290320-7}}
{{cite magazine |date=22 February 1954 |title=Biggest Tanker |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,860511,00.html |magazine=Time |access-date=14 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514043015/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,860511,00.html |archive-date=14 May 2007}}
{{cite magazine |date=24 December 1965 |title=An International Marriage |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,834879,00.html |magazine=Time |access-date=14 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514072118/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,834879,00.html |archive-date=14 May 2009}}
{{cite magazine |date=29 April 1996 |title=Milestones |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,984483,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215060556/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,984483,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 February 2009 |magazine=Time |access-date=14 April 2008}}

External links

[http://www.stavrosniarchosfoundation.org/ The Stavros Niarchos Foundation]
[http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gr~hfnia.html Niarchos Group]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080613190450/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909631,00.html Mentioned in Time's People section (Monday, Sep. 28, 1970)]

Category:1909 births

Category:1996 deaths

Category:20th-century art collectors

Category:Greek art collectors

Category:Greek billionaires

Category:Greek businesspeople in shipping

Category:Greek expatriates in Switzerland

Category:Greek racehorse owners and breeders

Category:Greek people of Maltese descent

Category:Livanos family

Category:National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni

Category:Niarchos family