Evangelos Marinakis was born in the Greek port city of Piraeus on 30th July 1967. The only son of Eirini Marinaki (nee Karakatsani) and Miltiadis Marinakis, Vangelis Marinakis is a Greek shipowner, media mogul and member of Piraeus city council.
Evangelos Marinakis’s father, Miltiadis Marinakis, was also a prominent businessman, politician and shipowner, having served as a member of the Greek Parliament. In addition to following in his father’s footsteps and entering politics and the global shipping industry, Evangelos Marinakis also provided significant financial support to Olympiacos Football Club, the team of his home city. In addition to owning Olympiacos FC, Evangelos Marinakis owns the English Premier League team Nottingham Forest FC.
After completing his high school education in Greece, Evangelos Marinakis studied at university in London, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in international business administration and a master’s degree in international relations. He is perhaps best known as the founder and chairman of Capital Maritime & Trading Corporation, a global shipping company that has gone from strength to strength thanks to Mr Marinakis’s visionary leadership.
In September 2023, Capital Group joined forces with Idan Offer’s Eastern Pacific Pte Ltd, placing an order for the world’s first ‘giant ammonia carriers’, with these vast vessels boasting a capacity of 88,000 cubic metres. In July 2023, Tradewinds praised Capital Group’s ‘green revolution’, with Evangelos Marinakis having invested $6.5 billion on an energy transition fleet including the world’s largest liquefied CO2 carriers.
Reflecting on the investment, Evangelos Marinakis underscored the potential of liquified natural gas to deliver a significant reduction of CO2 emissions immediately via tested propulsion technology while maintaining abundant fuel and the infrastructure to access it. Mr Marinakis suggested that while other alternative fuels are likely to play a role in the future, waiting for that technology to mature and/or the fuel to become available could culminate in losing years – if not decades – on the path to decarbonisation.
According to Lloyd’s List, as of November 2022, Capital Group controlled almost 100 vessels globally, with the company valued at circa $9 billion. In 2021 and the first 10 months of 2022, the company was involved in 75 transactions with a combined value of $5.5 billion reports suggest, including 47 vessel acquisitions and a significant investment in greener ships. Evangelos Marinakis has invested significantly in the liquified natural gas sector, with Capital Group having ordered 14 174,000-cubic-metre newbuilds from Hyundai Samho and Hyundai Heavy Industries, a report published by an English business portal suggests.
Evangelos Marinakis co-founded the Piraeus Winner alliance, an independent party whose manifesto included commitments to preserve the public nature of Piraeus Port Authority and boost the city’s profile as an up-and-coming tourist destination and Europe’s largest cruise ship hub. He became an elected member of Piraeus city council in May 2014 and was subsequently re-elected in May 2019.
Having owned Olympiacos FC, the team of his home city, since mid-2010, Evangelos Marinakis continues to serve as club president today. During his tenure, the team won the Greek League title seven consecutive times. Evangelos Marinakis also served as vice president of the Hellenic Football Federation and president of the Greek Superleague. In May 2017, he completed a transaction to become the majority shareholder of Nottingham Forest Football Club, a former double European Cup-winning team. Following his acquisition of the club, Nottingham Forest’s historic stadium and training ground was redeveloped as part of £50 million plans to restore the club to its former glory. On 29th May 2022, Nottingham Forest won a promotion to the English Premier League for the first time in 23 years.
Evangelos Marinakis has been recognised with an array of awards and accolades over the years, including ranking among Lloyd’s List’s ‘One Hundred Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry’ list and featuring in TradeWinds’ Power 100