Evangelos Marinakis is a leading figure in the international shipping industry, an elected member of Piraeus city council and the owner of the Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest football clubs.
Born in the Greek city of Piraeus on 30th July 1967, he is the only son of the prominent Cretan ship owner, Miltiadis Marinakis, and Irini Marinaki.
Evangelos Marinakis studied International Business Administration and International Relations at a London university, gaining a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree respectively. Upon graduation, Evangelos Marinakis followed in the footsteps of his father, venturing into the shipping industry.
Following a stint as a trainee chartering broker at Elders Chartering Limited and Harley Mullion, two prestigious British firms, Evangelos Marinakis founded his own business, the Capital Maritime Trading Corp. Starting out with a fleet of seven bulk carriers he inherited from his father, Mr Marinakis went on to build and scale the Capital Maritime Group, earning an international reputation as one of the most prominent business leaders in the global shipping industry today.
Evangelos Marinakis also founded Capital Product Partners LP, presiding over the American Stock Exchange-listed maritime company as chairman. Evangelos Marinakis was also Crude Carriers Corp’s CEO until the New York Stock Exchange-listed company’s merger in 2011.
In 2019, Capital Product Partners LP announced that it would be merging with Diamond S Shipping Inc. in a deal reportedly worth circa $1.65 billion, resulting in the creation of one of the largest listed tanker companies in the world. Today, the Marinakis family controls the Capital Maritime Group, operating a mixed fleet that comprises more than 70 vessels, including container ships, dry bulk carriers and tankers.
Evangelos Marinakis is also a board member of several other prominent companies operating in a variety of industries, and he is the owner of Abisso Holdings Limited, Alter Ego Media SA and One Channel. He ranked 59th in the 100 Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry list by Lloyds List in 2018 and also featured in Tradewinds’ Power 100 List of Top Shipowners and Operators.
Lloyds List staged a special awards ceremony in 2017, presenting Evangelos Marinakis with its Greek Shipping Personality of the Year award at the event in Athens. Speaking on behalf of Lloyds List, Nigel Lowry explained that the award was in recognition of the $1 billion Mr Marinakis had invested in fleet capacity that year, along with his ‘dynamic deal-making’ and active contributions to philanthropy and the sports and media sectors.
Outside of his extraordinary career in global shipping, Evangelos Marinakis has managed to make a significant impact in the world of sports, acquiring Olympiacos football club, the team of his home city, Piraeus. He continues to serve as president of the team to this day, having led the club to an impressive seven consecutive championship wins. Mr Marinakis also served as vice president of the Hellenic Football Federation and president of the Greek Superleague.
Evangelos Marinakis managed to acquire Nottingham Forest Football Club in 2017, securing the approval of the English Football League for his far-reaching plans to restore the club to its former glory, including an exciting redevelopment of the team’s historic grounds – culminating in the creation of the East Midlands’ largest football stadium and a facility boasting worldclass facilities.
In May 2014, Evangelos Marinakis was elected to the Piraeus city council, representing the independent ‘Piraeus Winner’ alliance. Mr Marinakis co-founded the alliance with Yannis Moralis, vice president of Olympiacos and the current Mayor of Piraeus. The Piraeus Winner alliance placed a heavy emphasis on improving local infrastructure, upgrading living standards for local people, and helping the port city of Piraeus to realise its potential as a thriving tourist destination.
A committed philanthropist, Evangelos Marinakis has given generously from his own personal funds, financing the construction of sports facilities, parks, squares and children’s playgrounds across Piraeus when the city council lacked the necessary finances due to the Greek economic crisis. As a member of the Piraeus city council, Mr Marinakis also personally financed redevelopment projects across the city that led to the creation of new businesses and jobs.
Throughout his career in international shipping, Evangelos Marinakis has leveraged his position to achieve a positive impact on society. In the wake of the Greek financial crisis, he pledged more than €168,000 to ‘Greece Debt Free’, a charity website created with the mission of eliminating Greece’s national debt. He also negotiated a partnership between UNICEF and Olympiacos FC, paving the way for implementation of an immunisation scheme for children in the developing world. The Capital Maritime & Trading Corp has also been recognised with several awards for its efforts to improve the environmental impact of global shipping, protecting the long-term future of the industry by making it more sustainable. These include the Port of Long Beach, Southern California’s Green Environmental Achievement Award 2014, 2015 and 2018, and the GREEN4SEA Excellence Award, 2015.
