Stelios Haji-Ioannou facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stelios Haji-Ioannou
|
|
|---|---|
| Στέλιος Χατζηιωάννου | |
Haji-Ioannou in 2022
|
|
| Born | 14 February 1967 |
| Alma mater | Bayes Business School London School of Economics |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Founder and part-owner of EasyJet |
| Relatives | Loucas Haji-Ioannou (father) Polys Haji-Ioannou (brother) Clelia Haji-Ioannou (sister) |
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou (born 14 February 1967) is a successful business person from Greece and Cyprus. He comes from a family that owned many ships. He is most famous for starting the budget airline easyJet.
He also created the Stelmar shipping company. His father, Loucas Haji-Ioannou, helped him start these businesses. EasyJet began in 1995. This was the start of many businesses using the "easy" brand. These companies are managed by easyGroup, and Stelios is in charge.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Stelios Haji-Ioannou was born in Athens, Greece, on 14 February 1967. He was the second of three children. His older brother is Polys Haji-Ioannou, and his younger sister is Clelia Haji-Ioannou. Both of his siblings own a lot of shares in easyJet.
His family comes from a village in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus. After finishing school in Athens, he studied economics. He earned a degree from the London School of Economics in 1987. Later, he got another degree in Shipping, Trade & Finance from Bayes Business School. He has also received several honorary doctorates from different universities.
Starting His Career
Stelios calls himself a "serial entrepreneur." This means he likes to start many different businesses. In 1988, he began working for his father's shipping company, Troodos Shipping Co Ltd. This company was already very successful.
When he was 25, his father gave him £30 million. Stelios used this money to start his own shipping company, called Stelmar Shipping. In 2001, he made Stelmar Shipping a public company. This meant its shares could be bought and sold on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2005, Stelmar Shipping was sold for about $1.3 billion.
The "easy" Companies
Stelios Haji-Ioannou started easyJet in 1995. He was 28 years old at the time. The airline first offered flights between Luton and Scotland. In 2000, easyJet PLC became a public company on the London Stock Exchange.
Stelios and his family still own the largest part of easyJet. They own about 34% of the airline. Stelios runs his businesses through his company, the easyGroup. This company owns the 'easy' brand name. It then lets other companies use this brand name for their businesses. Stelios keeps expanding his business interests. He mostly focuses on travel and fun activities. He encourages other business people to use the "easy" brand for their companies.
easyJet PLC is one of the biggest airlines in Europe. It has many planes and carries millions of passengers each year.
Other "easy" businesses related to travel and fun include:
- easyCar: This service offers low-cost car rental in many places around the world. It also has a car-sharing program.
- easyBus: This company provides affordable bus rides. It connects airports in cities like London, Paris, and Geneva to their city centers.
- easyHotel: This offers budget-friendly places to stay in city centers across Europe.
- easyGym: These gyms offer low-cost memberships without long contracts. They have locations in the UK and France.
- easyProperty: This is an online service for people who want to buy, sell, rent, or let homes.
- easyCruise: This was a low-cost cruise line that started in 2004. It was sold in 2009.
- easyCoffee: This company owns self-service coffee machines and a cafe in Central London.
- easyStorage: This offers affordable storage solutions. Customers pay for storage and can add extras like packing materials or delivery.
- EasyInternetcafé: This was a chain of internet cafes.
Fastjet Airline
In 2011, it was announced that Stelios was working on a new budget airline called Fastjet. This airline would fly routes within Africa. Fastjet began its flights in November 2012.
Disagreement with Ryanair
In 2009, Stelios had a disagreement with another airline, Ryanair. Ryanair had published advertisements that showed Stelios in a way he didn't like. The ads called him "easyJet's Mr Late Again."
Stelios took Ryanair to court in London. The case was settled outside of court. Stelios received an official apology from Ryanair. He also received £50,100, which he gave to his charity foundation.
Disagreements with EasyJet
In 2010, Stelios left the board of EasyJet. He wanted to stop the company's plans to grow bigger. He felt that the company's growth wasn't helping its shareholders.
He said that even though easyJet was seen as a big success, its share price hadn't really gone up much in 10 years. In 2013, Stelios became more worried about easyJet's expansion plans. He sold some of his easyJet shares to show his disapproval of plans to buy more planes. His brother and sister did the same.
In 2020, Stelios publicly asked for the CEO and chairman of EasyJet to be removed. He believed they made a mistake by not canceling a large order for new planes from Airbus.
Personal Life
Stelios Haji-Ioannou has lived in Monaco since he was a teenager. His family moved there when he was young.
In 2006, he received a special honor from Queen Elizabeth II. He was made a Knight Bachelor for his "services to entrepreneurship." This means he was recognized for his great work in starting businesses.
Stelios was part of a group that advised the Conservative Party on business policy. He said this didn't mean he supported one political party over another. He felt that there wasn't much difference between different political ideas anymore.
In 2018, he filed a legal claim against Netflix. He said that their TV series Easy used the name in a way that broke his company's trademarks in Europe.
Charity Work
Stelios has a charity called the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation. This foundation helps with education and supports new business ideas. It also helps with environmental projects. It provides money and advice in the UK, Greece, and Cyprus.
The foundation also gives out annual awards with cash prizes. These prizes go to entrepreneurs in the UK, Greece, and Cyprus.
In Spanish: Stelios Haji-Ioannou para niños
