Onassis, the mythic tycoon

Posted on April 9, 2008
Filed Under Famous Entrepreneurs |

If ever there was a famous entrepreneur, Aristote Onassis is one of the names name that first comes to mind. This legendary personality was born in Smyrne, a city that is better known today as Izmir, which is in Turkey, on what is rumored to be January 20th, 1900.

In thoses days, this seaside city was cosmopolitan to say the least, unfortunately, it was also situated in what was, then, the crumbling Ottoman Empire. Occupied by the greek army, retaken by the Turks, Christian families were persecuted and the Onassis family suffered a great deal. By 1923, Ari was on his way to Argentina where he started out as one of millions of refugees, by taking on any odd job that was available.

Extremely determined, he made use of his considerable charm to work his way up and to cultivate himself. He consistently worked two jobs and thanks to his family connections he developped his own brand of cigarettes.  It was not long before he understood that his main interest lied in shipping.

On the surface of things it appears as if everything came easily to Ari Onassis, but nothing is less true. The first boat he ever bought sank after a storm, barely after he had finished patching it up, in the bay of Montevideo. He also went to extraordinary lengths to create useful bonds with the people he needed to make his entreprises flourish.

When in 1932 a Canadian shipping company put a part of its fleet up for sale, he took his chance and bought six ships. In the years that followed, he worked his usual sixteen hours a day to keep this economic activity profitable and became so versed in the intricacies of shipping that even experts came to consult him.

In 1940, the outbreak of the second world war heaped calamity upon him. It started by a European government confining the two largest oil carriers ever to be built to dock. He already knew that the consumption of coal was about to be replaced by oil and had ordered the construction of the ships to put himself in a commanding position when the demand for transportation of this commodity would start rising.

This great entrepreneur went broke twice, yet he started afresh each time and he ended his life as a billionnaire. He once said: “Having a lot of money does not dispense one of hard work, it only dispenses one of hard labour”. 

Many biographies were written about Onassis, some of which were translated into other languages and there is a lot more that could be written about this entrepreneur, his life, his character and the incredible amounts of money he made. He had friends in high places and knew the mighty of his times, the likes of Winston Churchill or John Kennedy, who’s widowed wife he married after his assassination.

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