Aristotelis Socrates Onassis
Born	January 15, 1906(1906-01-15), some sources say 1900 Smyrna
Died	March 15, 1975 (aged 69) Neuilly-sur-Seine
Occupation	Shipping magnate
Spouse	Athina Livanos (1946-1960) Jacqueline Kennedy (1968-1975)
Children	Alexandros and Christina

Aristotelis (also Ari or Aristo) Sokratis Onassis (in Greek, Αριστοτέλης Ωνάσης) (January 15, 1906 – March 15, 1975) was one of the richest shipping magnates of the 20th century. Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting This article is on the Ancient Greek city of Smyrna principally in connection with the ruins remaining to this day Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Neuilly-sur-Seine (nœji syʀ sɛn in French) is a commune bordering the western limit of the city of Paris, France. Athina Mary Livanos Onassis Spencer-Churchill Niarchos ( 19 March, 1926 - 10 October, 1974) was a daughter of the Greek shipping Alexander S Onassis ( April 30, 1948 – January 23, 1973) was the only son of Aristotle Onassis and Athina Livanos Christina Onassis (Χριστίνα Ωνάση ( December 11, 1950 &ndash November 19, 1988) was the daughter of the Billionaire Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, baron, or industrialist, is a person who has reached a prominent place in The twentieth century of the Common Era began on ^[1][2][3] Some sources say he was born in 1900 and later changed his age to be 16 so as to avoid deportation from Turkey. ^[4]

Life

Onassis was born in Karatass, a suburb of Smyrna, Ottoman Empire (now İzmir, Turkey) to a middle-class Greek family. This article is on the Ancient Greek city of Smyrna principally in connection with the ruins remaining to this day The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish İzmir, historically Smyrna, is the third most populous city of Turkey and the country's largest port after İstanbul. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches At the time of his birth, Smyrna had a very significant and prosperous Greek population. The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions After being briefly occupied by Greece (1919-1922) in the aftermath of the allied victory in World War I, the city was re-captured by Turkey; the Onassis family holdings were lost, causing them to move to Greece as refugees. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Greek refugees is a collective term used to refer to the Greeks from Asia Minor who were evacuated or relocated in Greece following the Treaty of Lausanne In 1923, Aristotle Onassis left his country to go to Argentina with allegedly only $63. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. After difficult beginnings, he once said: "Is hard to mantain vitality when you are allways hungry" he finally got his first job in British United River Plate Telephone Company.

First big step

After hearing a calling from an Argentinian film retailer and a high executive of Paramount in New York about Rudolph Valentino, he was at the top at this time, he had the idea of importing tobacco from Turkey, with a great help from his father Socrates. Rudolph Valentino ( May 6, 1895 &ndash August 23, 1926) was an Italian Actor, Sex symbol, and early This tobacco was softer than that of Cuba, and he was sure it would impress women more than the last one. After a failure in a contract closed with Juan Gaona, director of a huge Argentinian company, he turned to make his own cigaretts. After some time managing this business and his job in British United River, he finally got a considerable amount of money.

His power and influence were rapidly increasing, he uses to be present in important social events, and in 1925 he received Argentinian and Greek citizenships. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία

Success in business

After engaging in many different entrepreneurial activities with determination and a passion for success, he finally managed to become a world-class businessman making his first million by the age of 25, ^[5] owning commercial ships, tankers and whalers. In 1954, the FBI investigated Onassis for fraud against the U.S. government. The federal government of the United States is the central United States Governmental body established by the United States Constitution. He was charged with violating the citizenship provision of the shipping laws which require that all ships displaying the U. S. flag be owned by U. S. citizens. Onassis entered a guilty plea and paid $7 million. He founded Olympic Airways (today Olympic Airlines), the Greek national carrier, in 1957. Olympic Airlines (Ολυμπιακές Αερογραμμές Olympiakés Aerogrammés - OA is the Flag carrier Airline of Greece, based

To finance his ships he used a method that he, in his own words described as utilizing the formula OPM (other people’s money). And, much in the same way he closed contracts to transport ore in ships he didn't yet have, and closed several contracts to transport oil on tankers that hadn’t been build yet.

Statue of Onassis at Nydri, Lefkada.

While the big petroleum companies like Mobil, Socony, and Texaco signing contracts with long terms and fixed prices with Onassis then having trouble in managing their own fleet with high cost due to USA flags, Aristotle made huge amounts of money. Mobil Gas Station by David Shankbonejpg|thumb|Mobil gas station East Village section of New York City]] Mobil was a major American oil company Mobil Gas Station by David Shankbonejpg|thumb|Mobil gas station East Village section of New York City]] Mobil was a major American oil company Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron" A fleet, or naval fleet is a large formation of Warships, and the largest formation in any Navy. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Onassis fleet had Panama flag and sailed with no tax and low costs. Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. With all this Aristotle could profit in every business, despite of having one of the lowest prices in the merchant navy market, and his tankers paid itself with a simple six month contract. The other 20 years of these ships lifecycle were only profits.

Marriage and family

Onassis married Athina Livanos, daughter of shipping magnate Stavros Livanos, on December 28, 1946; their son, Alexander (April 30, 1948 – January 23, 1973), and daughter Christina (December 11, 1950 – November 19, 1988), were both born in New York City. Athina Mary Livanos Onassis Spencer-Churchill Niarchos ( 19 March, 1926 - 10 October, 1974) was a daughter of the Greek shipping Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Alexander S Onassis ( April 30, 1948 – January 23, 1973) was the only son of Aristotle Onassis and Athina Livanos Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. Christina Onassis (Χριστίνα Ωνάση ( December 11, 1950 &ndash November 19, 1988) was the daughter of the Billionaire The City of New York After their divorce, Athina married John Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford. John George Vanderbilt Henry Spencer-Churchill 11th Duke of Marlborough, JP, DL (born 13 April 1926) is the son of Lt She later married Stavros Niarchos, her late sister's widower and Onassis's arch shipping rival. Stavros Spyros Niarchos ( 3 July 1909 &ndash 16 April 1996) was a Billionaire Greek shipping

Onassis financed the construction of the Olympic Tower in New York. Olympic Tower is a 51-story building in Midtown Manhattan, in New York City on Fifth Avenue, between East 51st Street and East 52nd Street

Despite the fact they were both married, Onassis and opera diva Maria Callas embarked on a notorious affair. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto They met each other in 1957 during a party in Venice promoted by Elsa Maxwell. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the Elsa Maxwell ( May 24 1883, Keokuk Iowa – November 1 1963, New York City) was an American Gossip After this first encounter Ari said to Spyros Skouras: "There were just a natural curiosity; after all, we were the most famous Greeks alive in the world". According to Greek Fire: The Story of Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis by Nicholas Gage, Callas gave birth to their child, a boy, who died hours later on March 30, 1960. Nicholas Gage (born Nikola Gatzoyiannis July 23, 1939 in the village of Lia in Epirus, Greece) is a Greek American author Events 240 BC - 1st recorded Perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Onassis ended his relationship with Callas to marry Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of U. S. President John F. Kennedy, on October 20, 1968. John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of Events 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. It was said that Kennedy insisted on marriage rather than an affair so as to avoid upsetting her children. That Callas was really the love of his life is suggested by the short lived happiness he experienced with Kennedy (he tried to end the marriage early but was unable to without committing an egregious offense, according to Greek law at the time), and by the many times he tried to see Callas while married to Kennedy. He flew to Paris to see Callas after the death of his son Alexander in an airplane crash. Callas responded, "If only our son had lived," referring to the child they are believed to have had together in 1960. ^[6] Onassis never recovered from the death of his son.

Death

Onassis died at age 69, on March 15, 1975 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, of bronchial pneumonia, a complication of the myasthenia gravis that he had been suffering from during the last years of his life. Neuilly-sur-Seine (nœji syʀ sɛn in French) is a commune bordering the western limit of the city of Paris, France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the Lung. Frequently it is described as lung Parenchyma / alveolar inflammation and abnormal Myasthenia gravis (literally "serious muscle-weakness" from Greek μύς "muscle" "weakness" and Latin gravis According to his will, his daughter, Christina inherited 55% of the Onassis fortune while the other 45% was used as funds for the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation set up to honor his son Alexander Onassis. The Alexander S Onassis Foundation is simultaneously a charitable organization and a multibillion-dollar empire This 45% was the share that his son Alexander would have inherited, had he not died in 1973. However, Jackie Kennedy received her share of the estate settling for a reported $10,000,000 ($26 million according to other sources) which was negotiated by her former brother in law Teddy Kennedy (this amount would later grow to several hundred million under the financial stewardship of her companion Maurice Tempelsman). Maurice Tempelsman (born August 26 1929, Antwerp Belgium) is a Belgian - American businessman and diamond merchant Christina's share has since passed to her only child Athina, making her one of the wealthiest women in the world. Athina Hélène Onassis-Miranda (née Athina Roussel born January 29, 1985) is a competitive show jumper.

See also

• Greek shipping
• Skorpios Onassis' private island
• Christina O Onassis' famous yacht
• John Paul Papanicolaou He purchased his yacht Christina O. Shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks Skorpios (Σκορπιός is a Private island in the Ionian Sea off the western coast of Greece and just to the east of the island of Lefkada Christina O is one of the world's longest private yachts at 325 feet 3 inches (99 m John Paul Papanicolaou is a Greek businessman active in the shipping industry
• Stavros Niarchos One of Onassis greatest rival and husband of his sister-in-law; a big shipping magnate

Notes

References

• Ari: The Life and Times of Aristotle Socrates Onassis, by Peter Evans, 1986.
• Le Fabuleux Onassis, by Christian Cafarakis, 1971.

External links

• The Life of Aristotle Onassis
• The Onassis Foundation