Born to Irini Marinaki, a descendant of the prominent Ypsilantis family, and Greek Member of Parliament and shipowner Miltiadis Marinakis, Evangelos Marinakis was born in Piraeus on 30th July 1967. He studied International Business Administration and International Relations at the American International University in London, gaining a BA degree and MSc degree respectively.
Upon graduating, Evangelos Marinakis followed in the footsteps of his father, venturing into both the global shipping industry and politics. He started his career with a company operating seven bulk carriers passed down from his father. Mr Marinakis steadily grew the company over the years.
Today, the Capital Maritime Group remains under the control of the Marinakis family, managing a fleet of more than 70 ships, including container ships, dry bulk carriers and tankers.
In addition to leading the Capital Maritime Group, Mr Marinakis also sits on the board of several other organisations, including:
- Abisso Holdings Limited
- Alter Ego Media SA
- Capital Product Partners LP
- One Channel
An avid football enthusiast, Evangelos Marinakis owns not one but two football clubs, namely Olympiacos Football Club, the team of his home city Piraeus, and Nottingham Forest Football Club in England.
2014 marked the shipping industrialist's entry into politics. Mr Marinakis joined forced with current mayor of Piraeus and vice president of Olympiacos Yannis Moralis, co-founding the ‘Piraeus Winner' alliance. The alliance developed a raft of exciting strategies to improve the standard of living for residents of the Greek port city of Piraeus, focussing on upgrading existing infrastructure and establishing the city as an up-and-coming tourist destination. The party's campaign was successful, and Mr Marinakis has been an elected member of Piraeus City Council since 2014.
Throughout his career, Evangelos Marinakis has repeatedly leveraged his position as a public figure and business leader to achieve a positive social impact. Following the Greek financial crisis, he gave €168,590 to ‘Greece Debt Free' on behalf of Olympiacos Football Club. He also played an instrumental role in negotiating a partnership between Olympiacos and UNICEF in 2013, helping to immunise children across the developing world.
In his capacity as an elected first member of Piraeus City Council, Evangelos Marinakis has given generously from his personal funds to finance a variety of social projects; he has funded the creation of parks and public squares throughout the city, as well as financing the construction of children's playgrounds and sports facilities.
