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Who Are The Greeks Billionaires Among The Top 1000 In The World

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Although some may have worked their way up to be among the richest Greeks billionaires, the majority of the people on this list are people who came from wealthy backgrounds.

The wealthiest people in Greece are among what the rest of the world refers to as "old money." They either got their money from their parents or husbands, or they came from a family that had been rich for generations.

Greece and the Greek people are among the oldest civilizations in the world, dating back to the Stone Age, which spans a period of more than 2 million years.

Greece was the center of civilization during the Bronze Age, the Dark Age, the Archaic Period, the Classical Period, the Hellenistic Period, Roman Greece, Byzantine Greece, Frankish/Latin Greece, and the very start of civilization.

Most of Greece's wealthiest people work in the shipping industry, which is the country's strength because its magnates own fleets of ships. This has helped the state's economy grow quickly, making Greece one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and a major source of economic growth for the country. Another way the Greeks have impacted the world is through banking.

Greeks Billionaires

The names of the richest Greeks and Greek billionaires, as well as their respective net worths and sources of wealth, are included in the table below.

A well-known American business magazine, says that in 2023, there will also be four extremely wealthy Greeks. This is in addition to the IT entrepreneurs, business magnates, and investors who will be worth billions of dollars.

Vicky Safra

With an estimated net worth of $7.3 billion, Vicky Safra is the richest Greek billionaire. Vicky Safra is not only the richest Greek billionaire but also the richest man in Greece, the richest woman in Greece, and the head of the richest family in Greece.

Vicky Safra, a Brazilian-born billionaire banker and businessman who formed the Safra Group and passed away in December 2020, received her money from her late husband, Joseph Safra. With banks on three continents and the Gherkin skyscraper in London, Joseph Safra was the richest man in Brazil in August 2020, according to Forbes.

He had an estimated net worth of $22.8 billion, ranking him 52nd in terms of wealth in the entire world.

Vicky and her four children each received a portion of their late husband's fortune, which was estimated to be worth more than $20 billion at the time of his death. Vicky is at the top of this list of the wealthiest persons in Greece, or is listed as one of the country's richest billionaires.

Dimitris Melissanidis

The shipping and oil tycoon, who is also one of the most prosperous Greek businessmen, is the second Greek billionaire on this list of the wealthiest people in Greece. He is the current owner of AEK Athens Football Club. He founded and previously owned Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc., the second-largest independent gasoline provider in the world.

Melissanidis was placed 98th globally in 2015 and 97th globally in 2014 on the list of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry published by Lloyd's of London. For his historic contributions to global shipping, he has won various honors.

Through his own company, Geonama Holdings, Melissanidis asserted ownership of an interest in Emma Delta, a private equity fund managed by EMMA Capital. Emma Delta paid €652 million for a 33% stake in the Greek bookmaker OPAP. According to Reuters, OPAP was the biggest betting firm in Europe as of 2008.

The biggest investor in OPAP is Dimitris Melissanidis, who contributed €157 million to the acquisition.

The Melissanidis familysold its full investment in OPAP to Allwyn, controlled by Czech billionaire Karel Komarek, for a sum of EUR 327.4 million, as reported on February 18, 2022. With all of his investments, he surpasses the second-richest person in Greece to become the richest man in Greece.

Dimitris Melissanidis watching a football match
Dimitris Melissanidis watching a football match

Aristotelis Mistakidis

Aristotelis Mistakidis has a net worth of $3.6 billion. He served as the former CEO of Glencore, one of the biggest multinational corporations involved in the copper industry. He left the position in 2018, but he still owns a 3% stake in the business. Additionally, he has stock in Piraeus Bank.

Glencore president aristotelis mistakidis
Glencore president aristotelis mistakidis

Latsis Family

The late businessman Yiannis Latsis's son, the billionaire and tycoon of Greek business, Spiros Latsis, passed away in 2003. Spiros Latsis was ranked as having a net worth of $3.2 billion on the Forbes list of the world's billionaires in 2018, ranking him at number 729.

John S. Latsis, a Greek shipping magnate, passed away in 2003, leaving Spiro Latsis in charge of managing the family's wealth. The family still has a foot in the shipping business through Latsco Shipping, despite having investments in banking, real estate, and oil now.

The Latsis family owns both Hellenic Petroleum, an oil company, and Lamda Development, a publicly traded property developer in southeast Europe. They also hold stock in EFG International, a Zurich-based private banking company with Latsis on its board of directors.

Philip Niarchos

The eldest child of Greek shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos and Eugenia Livanos is Philip Niarchos. He is the fourth richest man in Greece and the fifth wealthiest person in the country.

Philip Niarchos, the eldest child of the late shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos, inherited a sizeable portion of his father's art collection.

The collection, which cost $3 million when it was acquired from actor Edward G. Robinson in 1957, includes some of the most well-known pieces ever created. It is said to be the largest private collection of Van Gogh's work, with pieces like "Yo, Picasso" and "Self-Portrait without Ears."

Niarchos substantially outperforms his father in terms of legacy. He was thought to be the unidentified buyer of Vincent van Gogh's "Self-Portrait," which sold for $71.5 million at a Christie's auction in November 1998. In 1994, Red Marilyn by Andy Warhol cost Philip Niarchos$3.63 million.

Greek magnate philip niarchos
Greek magnate philip niarchos

People Also Ask

How Many Billionaires Are In Greece?

Four Greek billionaires made the Forbes list of the world's richest people this year. They were Vicky Safra, Vardis Vardinogiannis, Filippos Niarchos, and Aristotelis Mistakidis. The 321st richest person in the world, according to Forbes, is the richest Greek in the world, Vicky Safra.

Who Is The Richest Greek In America?

Contrarily, grocery billionaire John Katsimatidis raised his wealth from $3.7 billion to $4.1 billion, moving him up to position 261 on the Forbes list and making him the richest person of Greek heritage in the United States. Good work!

Are Greeks Wealthy?

Greece is still thought to be a "rich" country based on a few common measures of the amount and quality of life as well as the country's ability to get better.

Conclusion

The US, China, and Russia continue to lead the ranks of the world's billionaires, but Greece's places are still respectable given the state of the nation's economy.

We anticipate seeing more Greeks among the top 1000 in the coming years, as well as a rise in the income of Greek billionairesand they appear in PureNetWorth.

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About The Authors

Christoforos Karahaliidis

Christoforos Karahaliidis- Christoforos is always engaged in the Greek community and promotes the local economy. Chris just recently quit his job from finance to be a father to his new born baby. Casino and sport betting are the topics of interest for Chris since he was very young.

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