The only son of Cretan politician and shipowner Miltiadis Marinakis and his Pontus-born wife Irini Marinaki (née Karakatsani), a descendent of the Ypsilantis family, Evangelos Marinakis was born in the Greek city of Piraeus in 1967. His father was the founder of Vanimar, having amassed a fleet of ships throughout the course of his distinguished career.
Evangelos Marinakis studied at the American International University in London, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration and a master’s degree in International Relations. Upon completing his studies, Evangelos Marinakis followed his father into both global shipping and Greek politics.
Evangelos Marinakis commenced his career in global shipping working for Elders Chartering Limited and Harley Mullion, working as a trainee chartering broker for the prestigious UK firms. He forged a very successful path, founding the Capital Maritime & Trading Corp.
He was also the founder and chairman of Capital Product Partners LP, a company listed on the American Stock Exchange, as well as serving as CEO of Crude Carriers Corp, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 2019, Capital Product Partners LP merged with Diamond S. Shipping Inc. in a deal worth a reported $1.65 billion, culminating in the creation of one of the largest listed tanker companies in the world.
Today, the Marinakis family owns the Capital Maritime Group, a global organisation that manages more than 70 different vessels including container ships, tankers and dry bulk carriers. In addition to serving as Chairman of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp, Mr Marinakis also serves on the board of several other prominent companies and is the owner of One Channel, Abisso Holdings Limited and Alter Ego Media SA, as well as being a major shareholder in Capital Product Partners LP.
In 2010, Evangelos Marinakis purchased Olympiacos Football Club, the team of his home city, Piraeus. Mr Marinakis continues to serve as the club’s President, having formerly served as Vice President of the Hellenic Football Federation and President of the Greek Superleague.
In addition to acquiring Olympiacos Football Club, Mr Marinakis also owns Nottingham Forest Football Club, having bought the team in 2017. He gained the approval of the English Football League for far-reaching plans to restore Nottingham Forest to the club’s former glory, including an ambitious redevelopment of the side’s historic grounds.
In May 2014, Evangelos Marinakis was elected as a member of the Piraeus City Council. In this role, he has pledged his own personal funds to facilitate construction of children’s playgrounds, sports facilities, squares and parks throughout the city, providing a much-needed injection of capital that the City Council lacked in the aftermath of the economic crisis.
Having started his business empire with a company operating seven bulk carriers that was handed down to him by his father, Evangelos Marinakis’s successes with Capital Maritime Group have earned him an international reputation as one of the most prominent figures in global shipping. His considerable achievements have earned him a variety of prestigious shipping industry awards.
In 2018, Evangelos Marinakis ranked 59th in the ‘100 Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry’ by Lloyd’s List, as well as earning himself a spot in Tradeswinds’ ‘Power 100 List of Top Shipowners and Operators’. In 2017, Lloyd’s List organised a special awards ceremony in Athens, recognising Mr Marinakis’s ‘dynamic deal-making’ and active contributions to global shipping, philanthropy, the media sector and sports with a ‘Greek Shipping Personality of the Year’ award. Presented by Nigel Lowry, the award came in the wake of Evangelos Marinakis’s $1 billion investment into fleet capacity in 2017.
Mr Marinakis has a long history of charitable giving, both on behalf of the organisations he operates and personally. In February 2014, he pledged €500,000 to fund the rebuilding of schools following the devastating earthquakes in Cephalonia. In his capacity as owner of Olympiacos Football Club, both he and the club were honoured with a variety of awards and accolades after the team funded the purchase of clinical equipment to facilitate bone marrow transplants. In 2018, the Municipality of Piraeus presented Evangelos Marinakis with a special award in recognition of his work with the local government.
An internationally recognised investor and businessman, Mr Marinakis has amassed a net worth estimated at circa $650 million. He and his wife Athanasia Marinakis have four children.
