Born on 30th July 1967 in the Greek port city of Piraeus, Evangelos Marinakis is a powerful figure in the international shipping industry. In addition to serving as chairman of the Capital Maritime & Trading Corporation, he is also an elected member of Piraeus city council, as well as owning two football clubs: Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos F.C.
Evangelos Marinakis is the son of Irini Marinaki, née Karakatsani, who is descended from the well-known Ypsilantis family. As the founder of ‘Vanimar’, his Cretan-born father, Miltiadis Marinakis, saw great success in the global shipping industry, owning his own fleet of ships. Evangelos Marinakis’s father was also a financial supporter of Olympiacos F.C. and a member of the Greek Parliament.
After completing his secondary education in Piraeus, Evangelos Marinakis attended university in the UK, earning a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in International Business Administration and International Relations respectively.
Evangelos Marinakis started his career as a trainee chartering broker, working for the British companies Elders Chartering Limited and Harley Mullion. He forged an extremely successful path, and – true to the Marinakis family’s maritime pedigree – he went on to found the Capital Maritime Trading Corp.
Mr Marinakis also founded Capital Product Partners LP, presiding over the maritime company as chairman. He also served as CEO of the New York Stock Exchange-listed Crude Carriers Corp until its merger in 2011. In 2019, Capital Product Partners LP announced its merger with Diamond S Shipping Inc. The deal culminated in the creation of one of the largest tanker companies globally, with some $1.65 billion reportedly changing hands.
In addition to leading the Capital Maritime Trading Corp, Mr Marinakis also serves on the board of several other companies operating in various industries. He is the owner of Abisso Holdings Limited, Alter Ego Media SA and One Channel, and remains a major shareholder in Capital Product Partners LP.
Having started his career with a shipping company consisting of a fleet of seven bulk carriers passed down to him by his father, Evangelos Marinakis has taken the Capital Maritime Group from strength to strength. In the process, he has grown to become one of the most powerful people in the global shipping industry today.
A long-time supporter of Olympiacos F.C., Mr Marinakis acquired a majority share in the club in 2010. Throughout his seven year tenure as club president, he led the team to an impressive seven consecutive championship victories.
In 2017, Evangelos Marinakis was able to buy Nottingham Forest F.C., securing approval from the English Football League for his plans to restore the club to its former glory. These plans included extensive redevelopment of the club’s historic grounds, which will see it transformed into the East Midlands’ largest stadium and a venue boasting world-class facilities.
In May 2014, Mr Marinakis became an elected member of the Piraeus city council with the ‘Piraeus Winner’ alliance, an independent party he co-founded with Yannis Moralis, the Olympiacos Vice President and Mayor of Piraeus. In this role, he has worked tirelessly to upgrade infrastructure and improve living standards for local people, implementing ambitious plans designed to transform Piraeus into a thriving tourist destination.
Evangelos Marinakis recognises more than most the huge potential of his hometown of Piraeus. Nevertheless, he has also long been aware of the challenges faced by local people and the issues hindering the city from achieving its full potential. Driven by this passion, Mr Marinakis has played an active role in a range of initiatives designed to improve the city and elevate living standards for local people.
Mr Marinakis has pledged his own funds to finance construction of children’s playgrounds, sports facilities, parks and squares across Piraeus, plugging a gap left in the city council’s funding since the Greek economic crisis. He has overseen a variety of community and infrastructure initiatives across Piraeus, including tree planting, redevelopment and interventions on the facades of buildings – actions that have changed the physiognomy of the city and directly contributed to the creation of new businesses and jobs. He has also spearheaded cultural initiatives that celebrate the city’s long naval traditions, as well as overseeing programmes that led to the creation of sports camps, summer camps, Christmas and carnival parks, and events and excursions for the elderly.Throughout a distinguished career in the international shipping industry, Evangelos Marinakis has been recognised with a variety of prestigious industry awards. He ranked 59th in Lloyd’s List’s ‘100 Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry’ in 2018, and he also featured in Tradewinds’ ‘Power 100 List of Top Shipowners and Operators’. In addition, in 2017, Evangelos Marinakis was presented with a ‘Greek Shipping Personality of the Year’ award by Lloyd’s List at a special ceremony in Athens. Lloyd’s List made the award in recognition of the $1 billion Mr Marinakis had invested into fleet capacity, combined with his ‘dynamic deal-making’ and considerable contributions to the media sector, sports and philanthropy.
