If ever there was a famous businessman, Aristotle Onassis is one of the names that first comes to mind. This legendary personality was born in Smyrna, a city better known today as Izmir, which is located in Turkey, on what is rumored to be January 20, 1900.
In those days, this coastal city was cosmopolitan to say the least, unfortunately, it was also situated in what was then the crumbling Ottoman Empire. Occupied by the Greek army, reconquered by the Turkish army, Christian families were persecuted and the Onassis family suffered greatly. In 1923, Ari headed to Argentina, where he started out as one of millions of refugees, taking whatever odd jobs were available.
Extremely determined, he made use of his considerable charm to break through and cultivate himself. He constantly worked two jobs and, thanks to his family connections, he developed his own brand of cigarettes. It wasn’t long before he realized that his main interest was in shipping.
On the surface of things it seems as if everything is easy for Ari Onassis, but nothing is less true. The first boat he bought sank after a storm, he had just finished repairing it, in the bay of Montevideo. He also went out of his way to create helpful links with the people he needed to help his business prosper.
When a Canadian shipping company put part of its fleet up for sale in 1932, he seized the opportunity and bought six ships. In the years that followed, he worked his usual sixteen hour days to keep this business profitable and became so well versed in the intricacies of shipping that even experts came to consult him.
In 1940, the outbreak of World War II brought calamity to him. It started with a European government that confined the two largest oil tankers ever built to dock. He already knew that the consumption of coal was about to be replaced by oil and he had ordered the construction of the ships to put himself in a commanding position when the demand for transportation of this product began to increase.
This great businessman went bankrupt twice, yet he started fresh each time and ended his life as a billionaire. He once said: “Having a lot of money does not dispense with hard work, it only dispenses with hard work.”
Many biographies were written about Onassis, some of which were translated into other languages and there is much more that could be written about this businessman, his life, his character and the incredible amounts of money he made. He had friends in high places and knew the powerful of his time, from the likes of Winston Churchill to John Kennedy, whose widow he married after his assassination.