Evangelos Marinakis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Evangelos Marinakis
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Marinakis in 2021
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| Born | 30 July 1967 Piraeus, Greece
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| Occupation | Businessman, Shipowner |
| Board member of | Owner of Alter Ego Media S.A. Owner of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. Owner of Olympiacos F.C. Owner of Nottingham Forest F.C. City councillor of Piraeus President of Super League Greece |
| Spouse(s) | Athanasia Marinakis |
| Children | 4 |
Evangelos Marinakis (Greek: Ευάγγελος (Βαγγέλης) Μαρινάκης, born 30 July 1967) is a Greek media mogul, shipowner, lyricist and member of the Piraeus city council. He is the founder and owner of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp and also the owner of the football clubs Olympiacos in Greece, Nottingham Forest in England, and Rio Ave in Portugal.
Marinakis is a figure of note in Greek football, with public perception often characterizing him as a controversial figure. Referred to by pundits and journalists as a Greek oligarch, he has been associated with various corruption-related scandals. Although acquitted, these incidents have contributed to shaping his public image over the years. Marinakis has also received praise for his philanthropic endeavors, particularly those that have benefited Athens and, notably, the town of Piraeus.
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Early life
Evangelos Marinakis was born in Piraeus, Greece on 30 July 1967. He is the only son of Miltiadis Marinakis and Irini Marinaki (née Karakatsani). His father, Miltiadis Marinakis, was born in Crete. He was a shipowner, a Member of the Greek Parliament and, at times, a financial supporter of Piraeus football club, Olympiacos. Marinakis holds a B.A. in 'International Business Administration' and an M.Sc. in 'International Relations'.
Career
Shipping
Marinakis is the founder and chairman of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. The Capital Maritime Group which is controlled by the Marinakis family, managed a mixed fleet of more than 70 ships in 2017, including tankers, container ships and dry bulk carriers. Capital Group entered the LNG segment in 2018, ordering up to 10 LNG ships of a total value of US$1.8 billion.
In October 2021 on the occasion of the listing of CPLP’s first bond on the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) he said that “we have been engaged with financial markets since 2007 when we were first listed in New York at the Nasdaq stock exchange. Since then we have paid more than $800 million in dividends to our investors”.
From March 2010 until September 2011, Marinakis also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NYSE-listed Crude Carriers Corp. Between March 2007 and December 2014 he was chairman of Capital Product Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:CPLP). In November 2018, Capital Product Partners L.P. announced the merger of its tanker fleet with DSS Holdings, whose largest shareholder is WL Ross & Co., thus creating one of the biggest listed tanker companies in the world, in a transaction valued at $1.65bn.
From 1992 to 2005, Marinakis was the commercial manager of Capital Ship Management Corp. and oversaw the businesses of the group of companies that now form Capital Maritime. For the past decades, he has also been active in several other family-controlled businesses all related to the shipping industry.
Political career
In May 2014, Marinakis was elected first member of the Piraeus city council with the Piraeus Winner independent ticket, that he co-founded with Yannis Moralis, vice-president of Olympiacos F.C. Among their pledges were the preservation of the public nature of Piraeus Port Authority and the development of Piraeus as Europe's largest cruise ship destination and home port. In May 2019 Marinakis was re-elected first member of the Piraeus city council with the Piraeus Winner independent led by mayor Yannis Moralis.
Sports
Since mid-2010 Marinakis has owned Piraeus' hometown team Olympiacos, and serves as its president. During his presidency of Olympiacos, the team won the Greek League title for seven consecutive seasons from 2010–11 to 2016–17, 2020 to 2022 and the National Cup for the 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15 and 2020 seasons. Marinakis served as president of the Superleague Greece and vice-president of the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) from August 2010 until September 2011. In May 2017, it was announced that Marinakis had completed a transaction to become the majority shareholder in English Championship club and former double European Cup winners Nottingham Forest. On 29 May 2022, Forest won promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years. In November 2023, he completed the takeover of Portuguese club Rio Ave F.C.
Greek Superleague presidency and resignation
During the summer of 2022 he was elected as president of Superleague Greece for the second time serving as vice-president of the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF). In the wake of a series of highly violent incidents involving fans of Olympiakos and Panathinaikos in December 2023, resulting in the severe injury of a 31-year-old police officer, an 18-year-old Olympiakos supporter was apprehended. Instead of expressing willingness to cooperate with the investigation, Marinakis accused the Greek FA and the government of negligence. After several days of unrest, all Greek football clubs, including AEK, Panathinaikos, PAOK, and Aris, collectively passed a vote of no confidence against Marinakis' presidency. Marinakis was eventually forced to step down on his own.
Media
In September 2016, Marinakis, through his company Alter Ego Media S.A., won one of four national television licences auctioned in Greece after spending €73.9 million in a highly unusual competitive bidding process. The licence was however revoked on 26 October 2016 since the Greek Council of State held that the TV license law of Minister of State Nikos Pappas was unconstitutional.
In July 2017, Alter Ego was confirmed by a Greek first-instance court as the acquirer of the Lambrakis Press Group (DOL). It also holds a 22% stake in Mega Channel TV station.
Awards and distinctions
He was included in the Lloyd's List "One Hundred Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry" list, ranking 41st in 2022. In 2014 and 2010 he was awarded the "Newsmaker of the Year" award at the annual Lloyd's List "Greek Shipping Awards", while in 2009 his company, Capital Ship Management Corp. was awarded the "Tanker Company of the Year" award. In 2016, he was awarded the first ever "Xenakoudis Excellence in Shipping Award" by the International Registries, Inc./The Marshall Islands Registry.
Philanthropy
He personally supports the operation of the museum dedicated to the author Nikos Kazantzakis on Crete with €80,000 yearly for an initial period of 10 years from July 2014. He has also privately supported throughout the years various Greek children charities, including Argo, and 'Together for Children', a union of ten Greek NGOs.
During his presidency, Olympiacos FC, has funded the daily meals of a thousand people weekly, through the benevolent fund of "Genesios Theotokos" parish in the Athens suburb of Nikaia and the Syros Holy Church. In 2010, Olympiacos hosted a UNDP Match Against Poverty which raised over US$500,000 for earthquake stricken Haiti and Pakistan. Approximately a thousand food portions and clothing items were distributed daily to refugees stranded at the Port of Piraeus. In February 2014, he donated €500,000 for school repairs in the Greek island of Cephalonia, which was hit by destructive earthquakes. In October 2013, Olympiacos and UNICEF launched a partnership to immunize children in developing countries, featuring UNICEF’s logo on the players’ jerseys, with the target to raise €2 million in two years. In August 2017, the club announced that the partnership would be renewed with a focus on a new multi-year campaign. In June 2012, Marinakis repurchased Greek national debt, with a face value of €1,364,000 by offering the amount of €168,590 on behalf of each of Olympiacos' 55 Greek players and employees, to Peter Nomikos’ NGO ‘Greece Debt Free’ (GDF). In the past, Olympiacos has supported the Japan earthquake relief fund, and acted in support to the non-profit environmental organization ‘Arcturos’, the pediatric clinics of ‘St Sofia’ hospital in Athens and the ‘General Hospital’ in Limassol, various blood collection campaigns, Greek and international children's charities, including 'Elpida', the ‘Steven Gerrard Foundation’, the ‘Hatzikyriakos Foundation’.
In November 2017, Marinakis led an aid effort, through Olympiacos FC, to bring relief to the victims of massive flooding that hit the town of Mandra in the Attica region of Greece. The effort, included a large quantity of food, bottled water, and other daily necessities sent to those struggling in the aftermath of the flooding. In July 2018, Marinakis donated €1 million through Olympiacos FC, to help the victims of the deadliest wildfires to hit Greece in decades, which swept through an area near Athens. "In these difficult times, all us Greeks need to stand united at the side of our fellow citizens who suffer", the team said in a statement. In April 2019 fundraising was completed for the creation of the “Miltiadis Marinakis Professorship for Modern Greek Language and Culture” at the Ohio State University where the local Greek community raised $1 million with Marinakis as lead sponsor. This move will safeguard the operation of the OSU ‘Modern Greek Studies’ department that was destined to close. In November 2020, Nottingham Forest F.C. supported Framework's Homeless to Home Challenge major fundraising campaign to combat homelessness. Marinakis was praised for the tremendous support. In the same month, Nottingham Forest F.C. also supported Football Shirt Friday going the extra mile. Marinakis was commended for his ongoing community support. In December 2020, Angeliki Frangou and Marinakis teamed up to present a $1.8 million donation to an Athens hospital. The money funded 12 new intensive care beds.
