Aristotle Onassis: Greece’s Larger Than Life Tycoon

Hi, Greece troll.

Was he the new Colossus?

He sho was ugly.

The Greek tycoon’s wealth was already immense. He owned shares that secured his control of 95 multinational businesses on five continents.

Onassis owned gold-processing plants in Argentina and Uruguay, a large share in an airline in Latin America and $4 million worth of investments in Brazil.

He owned companies like Olympic Maritime and Olympic Tourist; a chemical company in Persia; apartments in Paris, London, Monte Carlo, Athens, and Acapulco — not to mention a castle in South France.

He also owned the 52-story Olympic Tower in Manhattan; another building in Sutton Place; Olympic Airways and Air Navigation; the Greek island of Skorpios; and the 99.06 -meter (325 foot) long luxury yacht “Christina O.”

Totally obsessed with this man and the world around him.

For Aristotle Onassis, the most priceless of all his acquisitions was Skorpios Island, a small, verdant island next to Lefkada in the Ionian Sea. Onassis was active himself in planting 200 species of trees and flowers there, creating gardens and orchards where vegetables and fruit were cultivated. He also built a taverna on the beach, where he used to cook fresh fish and seafood, sitting at a table and drinking ouzo, gazing at the blue-green waters and singing his favorite songs.

Skorpios was a labor of love for the Greek tycoon. It was also the love nest of the two great loves of his life: Maria Callas and Jacqueline Kennedy.

Your daily dose of Greece.

Aristotle Socrates Onassis; 20 January 1906-15 March 1975

I am fascinated by his affair with Maria Callas even more so than his marriage to Jackie O.

Onassis and legendary opera soprano Maria Callas carried on an affair despite the fact that they were both married. They met in 1957 during a party in Venice promoted by Elsa Maxwell. After this first encounter, Onassis commented to Spyros Skouras: "There [was] just a natural curiosity; after all, we were the most famous Greeks alive in the world." Callas and Onassis both divorced their spouses but did not marry each other, although their relationship continued for many years.

What, no Aristotle On Assistance? Sharpen up, Datalounge!

Maria and Ari

Ari and Maria

I prefer Dante.

Princess Grace, Ari, Maria, Prince Ranier

He was at his best with. Callas, as was she with him...

Men don't have to be pretty to have great sexual energy. Confidence, insouciance can be very attractive, With Callas he seemed to have that energy

R14. Agreed. Maria and Ari, the original Jet Set couple, were intriguing, alluring and fascinating. They had IT together.

He beat the women in his life and had zero business or personal ethics.

Was Aaron Spelling Greek? They both have the bulgy, baggy eyes.

Honey @R14, the only thing that ever made Onassis even remotely attractive, was his bank account. Callas was addicted to his power and liked having people fawning over her because she was his lover. She was also incredibly vain and egocentric and loved the tale of the great opera diva and the great magnate falling in love and wallowing in each other's greatness. As it stands out, he was more interested in making displays of power by buying America's Official Tragic Little Widow.

Callas was bitter about it 'till the end, because she was deeply invested in perpetuating the ridiculous fairy tale that only existed in her mind. In reality, Onassis was a boorish parvenu who had become wealthy through shady dealings, and he was as ugly on the inside as he was on the outside. He also loved to humiliate her by mocking the fact that she had lost her voice (the famous phrase "the only thing that ever made you special is that you have a whistle in your throat, and now it doesn't even work", is a good example of this), and treated her like shit. Callas, obsessed with her own legend, put up with it because she wanted to incorporate a great love story to her own biography, and probably also because she was used to always getting her way by fucking ugly men or throwing tantrums, and Onassis pretty much saw her as nothing more a trophy. When a more prestigious trophy was within his reach, the old one was thrown away.

I am always mystified by the way in which the lives of celebrities in the 1920s to early 1960s are romanticized. In reality, everything was quite pedestrian and the only reason why they're glorified, is because they had much control over the way in which they were publicly represented. In the age of social media, he would be seen as the tacky, dishonest, ugly and greedy nouveau riche bully that he was, and she would be seen as an egomaniac with greatly overestimated talents.

Brava R18 on the post

I just read a book about Princess Grace and when Onassis moved to/invaded Monaco, Prince Ranier saw him as his greatest threat and a terrible pain in the neck. They were cordial to Onassis until he mercifully moved away. His power, his money, and his political presence were not wanted there.

R18. Different strokes for different folks. I agree Jackie wanted the cash. She never had that look Callas had when with him. Confident men have a charisma & a sexual energy for me. Pretty men are so often a pain. The myth of Narcissus staring at his own reflection endlessly, in love with himself is very true often with pretty boys. But a confident man, umm love that energy. It an come from money or power for sure, but also can come from being comfortable in your own skin. Now that is really sexy. Whether it is1920 or 2021.

R21 After the murder/assassination of Robert Kennedy, Jackie wanted to get out of the USA so she did by bagging Onassis and leaving the country.

Maria loved Ari. This is true. He tired of her as she aged and he could buy younger snatch. Nothing new about this.

There are hundreds of photos of Elizabeth with Ari. It was a special moment in time when big stars lived in Switzerland for tax purposes, they yachted on the Med, played in the casinos of the Riviera, etc. How magnificent it all was