Evangelos Marinakis is a successful investor and businessman with a reported net worth of circa $650 million. As well as being one of the most prominent figures in international shipping, Mr Marinakis is an elected member of Piraeus City Council. He also owns two football clubs: Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos. He and his wife, Athanasis Marinakis, have four children.
Born in Piraeus on the 30th July 1967, Evangelos Marinakis’s mother, Irini Marinaki, was born in Pontus, and is a descendent of the Ypsilantis family. His father, Miltiadis Marinakis, was a shipowner and Member of Greek Parliament.
Evangelos Marinakis studied at the American International University in London, gaining a bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration and a master’s degree in International Relations. After completing his education, he followed in his father’s footsteps, entering both Greek politics and the shipping industry.
Evangelos Marinakis was the Commercial Manager for Capital Ship Management Corporation from 1992 to 2005. He expanded operations from one company operating seven bulk carriers to the creation of the Capital Maritime Group, a multinational shipping company operating a fleet of 70 vessels, including dry bulk carriers, tankers, and container ships.
Mr Marinakis is the founder of the Crude Carriers Corporation, an organisation that merged with Capital Product Partners L.P. in 2011. He served as Capital Product Partners L.P.’s Chairman of the Board from 2007 to 2014.
In 2014, Mr Marinakis was elected to the Piraeus City Council. Joining forces with Piraeus Mayor and Vice President of Olympiacos F.C. Yannis Moralis, he co-founded the independent ‘Piraeus Winner’ alliance. Since election, the alliance has focused on transforming the port city of Piraeus into a tourist destination and upgrading infrastructure. Mr Marinakis has pledged his own finances to fund redevelopment and the creation of new businesses and jobs in Piraeus, while improving the standard of living for local people.
A long-time supporter of Olympiacos F.C., Mr Marinakis was able to buy a majority share in his hometown’s football club in 2010. As President, Mr Marinakis led the team to seven consecutive championship wins.
In 2017, Evangelos Marinakis acquired Nottingham Forest Football Club, the Football League’s oldest club. Gaining approval from the English Football League, he has embarked on an ambitious redevelopment project at the club’s historic grounds which will see it become the East Midlands’ largest stadium.
Renowned for his philanthropy work, Mr Marinakis orchestrated a €168,590 donation on behalf of Olympiacos F.C. to the ‘Greece Debt Free’ charity in 2012. Following the earthquake in 2014, he also pledged €500,000 to help rebuild schools in Cephalonia.
Mr Marinakis is one of the global shipping industry’s most prominent figures. In 2017, his outstanding achievements in the industry were commemorated by Lloyd’s List in a special awards ceremony in Athens, where he was presented with its ‘Greek Shipping Personality of the Year’ award. In 2018, Lloyd’s List ranked Mr Marinakis 59th in its ‘100 Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry’. He was also recognised by Tradewinds in its ‘Power 100 List of top Shipowners and Operators’.
