Evangelos Marinakis is a prominent figure in the global shipping industry. He is also the owner of two football clubs, namely Olympiacos FC in Greece and Nottingham Forest in the English Football League. In addition, in 2014, Mr Marinakis became an elected member of Piraeus city council. He is a committed philanthropist, supporting a variety of causes in his home country and around the world.
Born in Piraeus, Greece, on 30th July 1967, Evangelos Marinakis is the only son of Miltiadis Marinakis, a Cretan ship owner and member of the Greek Parliament, and his wife Irini Marinaki, who was born in Pontus and is directly descended from the prominent Ypsilantis family.
Evangelos Marinakis attended university in London, studying at The American International University, where he gained a master’s degree in International Relations, as well as a bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Evangelos Marinakis embarked on a career in shipping, working for a time at the British firms Elders Chartering Limited and Harley Mullion. Forging a successful path, Mr Marinakis launched his own business, the Capital Maritime Trading Corp, true to his maritime pedigree. He also founded the maritime company Capital Product Partners LP, presiding over the American Stock Exchange-listed company as chairman. Mr Marinakis was the CEO of the New York Stock Exchange-listed maritime company Crude Carriers Corp until its merger in 2011.
In early 2019, it was revealed that Capital Product Partners LP would be merging with Diamond S Shipping Inc., with the deal culminating in the creation of a world-leading listed tanker company, with $1.65 billion changing hands according to reports.
In the course of his extraordinary career in global shipping, Mr Marinakis has been recognised with several coveted industry awards, including winning a Newsmaker of the Year Award in Lloyd’s List’s Greek Shipping Awards in 2010 and 2014; and the Xenakoudis Excellence in Shipping Award from International Registries Inc. and The Marshall Islands Registry. In 2018, Evangelos Marinakis also received a Certificate of Recognition for Commitment to Excellence in Ship Management and Operations from Lloyd’s Register of Shipping.
Evangelos Marinakis still presides over the Capital Maritime & Trading Corp as chairman, with the Marinakis family having retained control of the Capital Maritime Group – a group of companies that controls a fleet of more than 70 ships including dry bulk carriers, tankers and container ships. Through his successes with the Capital Maritime Group, Mr Marinakis has earned a solid reputation as one of the global shipping industry’s most powerful leaders. In 2018, he ranked amongst the Power 100 List of Top Shipowners and Operators by Tradewinds, as well as featuring in the 100 Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry published by Lloyd’s List that year.
Alongside his role overseeing the operations of Capital Maritime Group and its subsidiaries, Evangelos Marinakis also serves on the board of various other organisations. He is the owner of Abisso Holdings Limited and One Channel and is a major shareholder in Capital Product Partners LP.
In 2014, Evangelos Marinakis’s successful campaign with the independent ‘Piraeus Winner’ alliance earned him a place on the Piraeus city council. Mr Marinakis founded the party with Yannis Moralis, the current Mayor of Piraeus. The party’s manifesto focused on improving living standards for local people, upgrading infrastructure and transforming Piraeus into a thriving destination for tourists.
In 2017, Lloyd’s List organised an awards ceremony in the Greek capital. Here, Mr Marinakis was honoured with the organisation’s Greek Shipping Personality of the Year Award. Speaking on behalf of Lloyd’s List, Nigel Lowry indicated that the award was made in recognition of Mr Marinakis’s ‘dynamic deal making’ along with his active contributions to the sports and media sectors and his philanthropic work.
Evangelos Marinakis was fortunate enough to acquire Olympiacos Football Club, the team of his home city of Piraeus, in 2010. He continues to serve as the team’s president to this day. He also served as vice president of the Hellenic Football Federation from 2010 to 2011, as well as previously presiding over the Greek Superleague as president.
In his role as an elected member of the city council of Piraeus, Evangelos Marinakis has used his own funds to finance the creation of sports facilities, parks, squares and children’s playgrounds across the city, compensating for funding shortages that came about as a result of the Greek economic crisis. The Municipality of Piraeus presented a special award to Evangelos Marinakis in 2018, recognising his work with local government.
In addition to using his personal funds to support charities, Evangelos Marinakis has also leveraged his position as a prominent figure in global shipping and owner of the Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest football clubs to advance the causes he supports. He and Olympiacos Football Club received awards for funding the purchase of medical equipment to support bone marrow transplants. In February 2014, Mr Marinakis pledged €500,000 to finance the reconstruction of schools that were destroyed or damaged in earthquakes in Cephalonia.
