Aristotle Onassis(1906-1975)
Aristole Onassis was an ethnic Greek born in Smyrna in the Ottoman
Empire in what is now Turkey, who became a billionaire shipping tycoon
when the number of billionaires could be counted on one hand. He is
known to history as the second husband of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.
He was the son of Socrates Onassis, a ship owner with a modest fleet of
10 ships manned by 40 sailors. The relative wealth of his father got
the young Ari a good education, and he became fluent in English,
Spanish and Turkish. In the aftermath of World War One, when the
Ottoman Empire was broken up by the victorious Allies and modern Turkey
was created by
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, many ethnic
Greeks were expelled from the new country. The Onassis family fled to
Greece as refugees.
Aristotle Onassis emigrated to Argentina in 1923 with 60 dollars
(approximately $800 in 2011 dollars, when factored for inflation). He
became an importer of Turkish tobacco and eventually became an owner of
ships. Eventually, he held Argentine and Greek passports and dual
citizenship.
Onassis switched to transporting oil for the major petroleum companies,
who could save money by not owning their own fleets. It was the
introduction of the supertanker to transport Middle Eastern oil that
made Onassis one of the richest men in the world. A supertanker could
be paid for with one six-month lease, meaning that the majority of the
20-year life-span of a tanker could result in extraordinary profits.
Onassis invested his vast fortune wisely, including in the petroleum
industry itself, transportation, and other businesses.
Outside of the business world, Aristole Onassis was little known, and
if he was known at all, it was for his romance with the opera singer
Maria Callas. However, his 1968 marriage to
the widow of the late President
John F. Kennedy made him a world-wide
figure whose life was chronicled in newspapers around the globe.
Empire in what is now Turkey, who became a billionaire shipping tycoon
when the number of billionaires could be counted on one hand. He is
known to history as the second husband of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.
He was the son of Socrates Onassis, a ship owner with a modest fleet of
10 ships manned by 40 sailors. The relative wealth of his father got
the young Ari a good education, and he became fluent in English,
Spanish and Turkish. In the aftermath of World War One, when the
Ottoman Empire was broken up by the victorious Allies and modern Turkey
was created by
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, many ethnic
Greeks were expelled from the new country. The Onassis family fled to
Greece as refugees.
Aristotle Onassis emigrated to Argentina in 1923 with 60 dollars
(approximately $800 in 2011 dollars, when factored for inflation). He
became an importer of Turkish tobacco and eventually became an owner of
ships. Eventually, he held Argentine and Greek passports and dual
citizenship.
Onassis switched to transporting oil for the major petroleum companies,
who could save money by not owning their own fleets. It was the
introduction of the supertanker to transport Middle Eastern oil that
made Onassis one of the richest men in the world. A supertanker could
be paid for with one six-month lease, meaning that the majority of the
20-year life-span of a tanker could result in extraordinary profits.
Onassis invested his vast fortune wisely, including in the petroleum
industry itself, transportation, and other businesses.
Outside of the business world, Aristole Onassis was little known, and
if he was known at all, it was for his romance with the opera singer
Maria Callas. However, his 1968 marriage to
the widow of the late President
John F. Kennedy made him a world-wide
figure whose life was chronicled in newspapers around the globe.