Born on the 30th July 1967 in the Greek city of Piraeus, Evangelos Marinakis is a prominent investor and businessman with a net worth estimated at $650 million. The husband of Athanasia Marinakis and a father of four, Mr Marinakis is a leading figure in the global shipping industry.
He has been honoured with numerous coveted industry awards throughout his exceptional career, including being named Lloyd’s List’s ‘Greek Shipping Personality of the Year’ in 2017 at a special awards ceremony staged in Athens.
The son of Irini Marinaki, who hails from the prominent Ypsilantis family, and Miltiadis Marinakis, a Greek shipowner and Member of Parliament, Evangelos Marinakis studied at the American International University in London, gaining an MSc in International Relations and a BA in International Business Administration.
Mr Marinakis has served on the board of several prominent organisations, including Abisso Holdings Limited, One Channel, Capital Product Partners LP, and Alter Ego Media SA. Today, he presides over the Capital Maritime Trading Corp, a company he built from the ground up. His family controls the Capital Maritime Group, a global organisation operating a mixed fleet comprising more than 70 vessels, including container ships, tankers, and dry bulk carriers.
With a passion for football, Mr Marinakis owns two football clubs: Olympiacos Football Club, which is based in the city of Piraeus, Greece, and Nottingham Forest Football Club in the UK.
Evangelos Marinakis co-founded the Piraeus Winner party, which contested and won two consecutive municipal elections in 2014 and 2019 in his home city. Mr Marinakis was the first member of Piraeus City Council, a body he continues to serve, receiving record numbers of votes in both elections. Working closely with Mayor Moralis, Evangelos Marinakis has put in motion strident plans to revitalise the Greek port city of Piraeus, with the ultimate objective of upgrading infrastructure, transforming the city into a major tourist destination, and improving the standard of living for all residents.
Philanthropic Work
With a keen appreciation of the need to give back to society, Evangelos Marinakis operates robust corporate social responsibility policies via all of his business operations. Mr Marinakis is well known for his generous philanthropy; leveraging his status as a public figure, his business prowess and his personal financial resources to make a real impact on society.
In 2014, Mr Marinakis pledged €500,000 to help rebuild schools in Cephalonia following the devastation caused by earthquakes on the Greek island. In 2012, he donated €168,590 on behalf of Olympiacos Football Club to Greece Debt Free. Evangelos Marinakis also helped to establish a partnership between Olympiacos and UNICEF, supporting a scheme to deliver vaccinations to children in developing countries. He has been honoured with several prestigious environmental awards, including the Green Environmental Achievement Award and the GREEN4SEA Excellence Award.
In 2020, Evangelos Marinakis was praised for his ‘tremendous support’ after Nottingham Forest Football Club backed a local initiative tackling homelessness in the city. Since Mr Marinakis took over the football club, he has encouraged players and staff to help out in the local community, highlighting the importance of corporate social responsibility and creating positive change.
Led by the Nottingham-based charity Framework, the Homeless to Home challenge was created to inspire members of the public to do whatever they could to raise funds to help end homelessness.
Speaking to the Nottingham Post, Framework’s Head of Fundraising and Communications Claire Eden said that since Mr Marinakis had arrived at Nottingham Forest the charity had received tremendous support, highlighting his desire to make a difference throughout the city.
Throughout November 2020, Nottingham Forest Football Club encouraged fans to take part in the Homeless to Home challenge, raising vital funding to tackle the growing problem of homelessness in Nottingham.
