Giannis Latsis

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Giannis Latsis (born September 14, 1910 in Katakolo , † April 17, 2003 in Athens ), also known as John Spyridon Latsis and Captain John , was a Greek shipowner and oil tycoon . He gained notoriety through his great fortune, influential friends, and charitable activities.

Life

Giannis Latsis was born in Katakolo, a small town in the prefecture of Elis , which at that time lived from fishing. He himself was the seventh of 21 children in the family, which is why he had to work as a child to contribute to the family income. He attended the business school in Pyrgos and the school for merchant naval captains. While he was still working as a fisherman, casual worker and sailor during his training, he then began his career as a captain in the merchant marine. He bought his first cargo ship as early as 1938; until the 1960s he rose to become one of the major ship owners in Greece.

In the late 1960s, Latsis diversified and invested in the oil business in Greece and Saudi Arabia . He continuously expanded his group of companies, acquiring banks, construction companies and refineries. His European Financial Group has banks in the UK , Switzerland , Monaco , the Channel Islands and Greece.

Latsis had close friendships with some celebrities, to whom he made his luxury yacht Alexander available, among other things . These included Prince Charles , Princess Diana , and later Camilla Parker-Bowles . There were also close ties to former President George Bush and his family, as well as Colin Powell and actor Marlon Brando . In addition, he was friends with members of the Saudi royal family.

Latsis founded the Latsis Foundation in 1975 to support many cultural projects, such as B. a Greek translation of the Koran . He supported the earthquake victims in Greece, Egypt and Armenia with generous donations. After the earthquake in Greece in 1986, he made his cruise ship Marianna 9 available as a floating hotel for 900 homeless people.

family

Giannis Latsis married Erietta Tsoukala. They had three children ( Spiros , Marianna and Margarita) and nine grandchildren.

Marianna Latsis married the water ski instructor Grigoris Kasidokostas, who later became mayor of the Athens coastal suburb of Vouliagmeni . From this marriage Paris Kasidokostas (also known as Paris Kasidokostas Latsis) emerged, whose engagement to Paris Hilton in 2005 made headlines.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ioannis Latsis, the last great shipowner. WELT ONLINE , Axel Springer AG, accessed on December 22, 2009 .
  2. ↑ Michael Moschos: Obituary: John Latsis. The Independent , April 18, 2003, accessed December 22, 2009 .
  3. ↑ a b Shipping tycoon Yiannis (John) Latsis dies of old age. (No longer available online.) Embassy of Greece, Washington DC, April 18, 2003, archived from the original on June 5, 2011 ; accessed on December 22, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.greekembassy.org
  4. ^ A b Paul Lewis: John S. Latsis, 92, Billionaire Who Built Empire in Shipping. The New York Times , April 18, 2003, accessed December 29, 2009 .
  5. ^ Paris Kasidokostas Latsis. (No longer available online.) IMDb, formerly in the original ; Retrieved December 23, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.imdb.de  
  6. ^ Paris & Paris. ECONOMY.ONE GmbH from Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt GmbH (VHB), accessed on December 22, 2009 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Latsis, Giannis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Greek shipowner
DATE OF BIRTH September 14, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Katakolo
DATE OF DEATH April 17, 2003
Place of death Athens