In June 2022, Greece’s leading shipowners gathered for a conference at the Four Seasons resort in Vouliagmeni, a wealthy suburb south of Athens. Coming just three months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country’s shippers had an unorthodox take on the war roiling the global economy.
"This is a tragedy for humanity, but at the same time it creates opportunities,” said George Prokopiou, one of the world’s biggest owners of tankers. “We need to be able to take advantage of these opportunities,” added Evangelos Marinakis, the tycoon behind shipping firm Capital Maritime and Trading.
During that same panel, titled “Greek Shipping at the Forefront of Global Trade,” Prokopiou also made a bold prediction: “By the end of the year we'll see very, very good markets in all segments. I'm very optimistic. Ships will command much higher prices.”
That prediction came true, helping propel both Prokopiou, 77, and Marinakis, 56, into the billionaire ranks as the value of their ships jumped and the size of their empires expanded. Prokopiou and Marinakis, who are worth $2.6 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively, have ordered 123 new ships worth nearly $13 billion since 2022, according to VesselsValue. Prokopiou’s four shipping firms own 173 tankers including those under construction, 54 more than in 2021.
These maritime moguls are part of a new generation of Greek billionaires making waves on land and at sea. Altogether, Forbes estimates there are now at least 12 shipping billionaires in Greece, more than at any other time in history. Seven of them are making their debut in Forbes’ billionaire ranks. Altogether they are worth $32 billion—the equivalent of roughly 12% of the country’s gross domestic product.
These tycoons are the latest in a line of swashbuckling pioneers hailing back to iconic figures like Aristotle Onassis and Stavros Niarchos, who launched the global oil tanker trade after World War II and became famous for their glamorous marriages and lifestyles. This newer group has been in shipping for decades but so far has kept a lower profile. (Despite their success, none would speak to Forbes, while their representatives either declined to comment or did not respond.)
What’s new is that the value of their holdings—particularly tankers—has soared by billions of dollars over the past two years, as the war in Ukraine sent shockwaves through global commodities markets and set off a scramble for large tankers needed to ferry oil around the world. Altogether, companies owned by Greek shipping tycoons ordered new ships worth nearly $200 billion and sold 68 older ships for almost $3 billion between January 2022 and March 2024, according to VesselsValue.
"Shipowners are the biggest capitalists in this country,” says Gelina Harlaftis, a professor of maritime history and director of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies of the Foundation of Research and Technology-Hellas in Crete.
