Evangelos Marinakis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Evangelos Marinakis
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| Ευάγγελος Μαρινάκης | |
Marinakis in 2021
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| Born | 30 July 1967 Piraeus, Greece
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| Occupation | Businessman, shipowner |
| Board member of | "Capital Group" Olympiacos Nottingham Forest Alter Ego Media S.A. City councillor, Piraeus |
| Spouse(s) | Athanasia Marinakis |
| Children | 4 |
Evangelos "Vangelis" Marinakis (Ευάγγελος (Βαγγέλης) Μαρινάκης), born on July 30, 1967, is a Greek businessman and investor. He owns many companies in shipping, media, and football. His father, Miltiadis Marinakis, was also a shipowner and politician from Crete.
Evangelos Marinakis started his journey in the Greek shipping industry in 2005 by creating "Capital Maritime & Trading Corp." In 2010, he bought a major share in the Greek football team Olympiacos and became its president. Olympiacos made history by winning the 2023–2024 UEFA Europa Conference League. This was the first time a Greek team won a European football competition.
In 2014, Marinakis was chosen as a city councillor for Piraeus, the city where he was born. He was re-elected in 2019. In 2017, he also bought the English football team Nottingham Forest. He also entered the Greek media world in 2016 with Alter Ego Media S.A., which later bought Lambrakis Press Group (DOL) in 2017.
Marinakis is well-known in both the shipping and football industries. Lloyd's List, a famous shipping publication, has listed him among the "One Hundred Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry" since 2010. In their 2024 list, he was ranked 16th.
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About Evangelos Marinakis
Evangelos Marinakis was born in Piraeus, Greece, on July 30, 1967. He is the only son of Miltiadis Marinakis and Irini Marinaki. His father, Miltiadis Marinakis, was a shipowner and a Member of the Greek Parliament. He also supported the Piraeus football club, Olympiacos. Evangelos Marinakis studied 'International Business Administration' and 'International Relations' at university.
He is married to Athanasia Marinakis, and they have four children: three girls and one boy. His son, Miltiades Marinakis, lives in London and has started his own company called "Shopflix." The family lives in Paleo Psychiko, Athens.
Marinakis has a personal connection with New Democracy politician Dora Bakoyannis. He was the best man at her wedding in 1998, and she became the godmother of his son, Miltiades.
Business Ventures
Shipping Industry Leadership
Marinakis is the founder and chairman of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. The Capital Maritime Group, which his family controls, managed over 146 vessels in 2025. These ships include tankers, container ships, and vessels for carrying LNG, LPG/ammonia, and CO2. The group also has offshore and dry bulk ships. Capital Group started in the LNG shipping business in 2018, ordering up to ten LNG ships worth about $1.8 billion.
From 2010 to 2011, Marinakis was also the Chairman and CEO of Crude Carriers Corp., a company listed on the NYSE. He was also chairman of Capital Product Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:CPLP) from 2007 to 2014. In 2018, Capital Product Partners L.P. combined its tanker fleet with DSS Holdings. This created one of the largest listed tanker companies in the world, in a deal worth $1.65 billion.
Before 2005, Marinakis worked as the commercial manager for Capital Ship Management Corp. He managed the businesses that are now part of Capital Maritime. He has also been involved in other family-owned shipping businesses for many years.
In December 2023, Marinakis, through his new company Capital Offshore, invested $106 million to buy seven platform supply vessels. In February 2024, he supported the creation of the Maritime Emissions Reduction Centre (M-ERC) in Athens. This center works with Lloyd's Register to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships worldwide. In June 2024, he received an honorary doctorate from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
Involvement in Local Government
In May 2014, Marinakis decided to get involved in the local government of Piraeus, his hometown. He joined the independent group led by Yannis Moralis, who was a former Vice President of Olympiacos. Marinakis was then elected as a municipal councillor with the most votes of any candidate.
His main goal during his election campaign was to stop the government's plan to privatize the port. He suggested that the Municipality of Piraeus should manage the port instead. However, the port's operations were eventually sold to the Cosco group in April 2016.
Even though he was often absent from council meetings, the people of Piraeus re-elected him as a city council member in the 2019 Greek local elections. He received even more votes this time.
Sports Leadership
Since mid-2010, Marinakis has owned Piraeus' local team, Olympiacos, and serves as its President. He was also president of the Superleague Greece and vice-president of the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) from 2010 to 2011. During his time as president of Olympiacos, the team won the Greek League title many times, including seven years in a row from 2010–11 to 2016–17, and again from 2020 to 2022. They also won the National Cup in 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, and 2020. In May 2024, Olympiacos won the UEFA Europa Conference League title against Fiorentina. This made them the first Greek club to win a European competition. Marinakis dedicated this victory to all Greek people. In the same year, Olympiacos also won the UEFA Youth League for the first time, beating Milan 3-0.
In May 2017, Marinakis became the main owner of the English Championship club Nottingham Forest, a team that had won the European Cup twice before. The Nottingham Post newspaper said that Marinakis's ownership meant an "exciting future" for the club. The team's manager, Mark Warburton, also said he expected Marinakis to be ambitious for Nottingham Forest.
After taking over Forest, Marinakis aimed for the club to play in European competitions within five years. He also planned to improve their stadium and training ground. Forest announced plans to redevelop the City Ground and the Nigel Doughty Academy. On June 29, 2022, Nottingham Forest was promoted to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years, achieving Marinakis's goals. In November 2023, he also took over the Portuguese club Rio Ave, investing over €20.5 million to help with debts and improve facilities.
In January 2024, Marinakis hosted a conference at the City Ground with Harvard University and the Lilian Thuram Foundation. This event focused on fighting racism and gender inequality in football.
Media Industry
In September 2016, Marinakis, through his company Alter Ego Media, won one of four national television licenses in Greece. He spent EUR 73.9 million ($82.8 million) in a very competitive bidding process. However, this license was later cancelled in October 2016 because the Greek Council of State ruled that the law for TV licenses was against the constitution.
In July 2017, a Greek court confirmed that Alter Ego would buy the Lambrakis Press Group (DOL). Alter Ego had been the highest bidder in an auction earlier that year. The court approved the sale, and DOL staff also supported the transfer of ownership. DOL is one of Greece's oldest and most important media groups. It includes popular newspapers like Ta Nea and To Vima, a news website, magazines, and a radio station. Alter Ego also owns a 22% share in the Mega Channel TV station.
In February 2021, Marinakis wrote the lyrics for the popular song "Excitement" ("Eksapsi") by Greek pop star Natassa Theodoridou. The song quickly reached one million views on Youtube within its first six days. In January 2025, Alter Ego Media was officially listed on the Athens Stock Exchange. There was high demand for its shares, raising about 57 million euros.
Awards and Recognitions
Evangelos Marinakis is seen as one of the most important and influential people in shipping worldwide. He grew his shipping business from a small company he took over from his father, which had only seven bulk carriers. He has been on the Lloyd's List "One Hundred Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry" list since 2010. He was ranked 16th in 2024, 22nd in 2023, and 41st in 2022. He also received the "Newsmaker of the Year" award at the annual Lloyd's List "Greek Shipping Awards" in 2014 and 2010. In 2009, his company, Capital Ship Management Corp., won the "Tanker Company of the Year" award.
In 2016, he received the first "Xenakoudis Excellence in Shipping Award." In November 2017, Marinakis was given the Lloyd's List "Greek Shipping Personality of the Year" Award. Nigel Lowry from Lloyd's List said Marinakis was the "outstanding candidate" for the award, noting his $1 billion investment in ships in 2017 and his active deals in shipping, as well as his charity work, sports, and media activities.
In November 2022, Marinakis received the Tanker Shipping & Trade Industry Leader Award. In December 2023, he received the Lloyd's List Greek Shipping Awards for "Deal of the Decade" and "20 Year Achievement Award." In December 2024, Marinakis received the Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards "Tanker Company of the Year Award." This award recognized Capital Group's investments in new technologies to help the energy transition, including ships that can use ammonia and LNG as fuel, and large CO2 carriers.
Helping Others (Philanthropy)
Evangelos Marinakis is also known for his charity work, both personally and as president of Olympiacos F.C. He personally supports the museum dedicated to the Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis on the island of Crete. He gives €80,000 each year for 10 years, starting from July 2014. In September 2014, he personally paid for celebrations marking 200 years since the founding of the Filiki Eteria and for a statue of Alexander Ypsilantis in Athens. He has also supported various Greek children's charities over the years, such as Argo and 'Together for Children,' which is a group of ten Greek NGOs.
Under his presidency, Olympiacos has helped provide daily meals for a thousand people each week through a charity fund in Nikaia, Athens, and the Syros Holy Church. In 2010, Olympiacos hosted a UNDP Match Against Poverty which raised over US$500,000 for countries affected by earthquakes, like Haiti and Pakistan. They also gave out about a thousand food portions and clothing items daily to refugees at the Port of Piraeus. In February 2014, he donated €500,000 for school repairs on the Greek island of Cephalonia, which was hit by strong earthquakes.
In October 2013, Olympiacos and UNICEF started a partnership to vaccinate children in developing countries. UNICEF’s logo was placed on the players’ jerseys, and they aimed to raise €2 million in two years. In August 2017, the club announced they would continue this partnership with a new campaign. In June 2012, Marinakis bought back Greek national debt worth €1,364,000 by offering €168,590 on behalf of each of Olympiacos' 55 Greek players and employees. This was done for Peter Nomikos’ NGO ‘Greece Debt Free’ (GDF). Olympiacos has also supported the Japan earthquake relief fund, the environmental group Arcturos, children's clinics in Athens and Limassol, blood donation campaigns, and various children's charities like Elpida and the Steven Gerrard Foundation. Marinakis is also working to create the Olympiacos charity foundation.
In September 2017, Marinakis sponsored a special conference in Athens with Harvard University. It focused on football's role in social responsibility, especially for refugees. At the event, Marinakis said that "football can cross borders, overcome old disagreements, and bring millions of people around the world together." In November 2017, Marinakis led an effort through Olympiacos to help victims of severe flooding in Mandra, Greece. They sent a lot of food, bottled water, and other daily necessities to those affected. In July 2018, Marinakis donated €1 million through Olympiacos to help victims of deadly wildfires near Athens. The team stated, "In these difficult times, all us Greeks need to stand united at the side of our fellow citizens who suffer."
In April 2019, money was raised to create the "Miltiadis Marinakis Professorship for Modern Greek Language and Culture" at the Ohio State University. The local Greek community raised $1 million, with Evangelos Marinakis as the main sponsor. This helped ensure the university's 'Modern Greek Studies' department would continue to operate.
In November 2020, Nottingham Forest supported Framework's Homeless to Home Challenge, a major fundraising campaign to fight homelessness. Marinakis was praised for his great support. In the same month, Nottingham Forest also supported Football Shirt Friday. Marinakis was recognized for his ongoing community support. In December 2020, Angeliki Frangou and Marinakis worked together to donate $1.8 million to an Athens hospital. This money helped fund 12 new intensive care beds.
