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 Aristotle Onassis is one of the most significant businessmen
of the XX century, shipping magnate and cosmopolitan entrepreneur. He loved and
was loved by women. He was a man who does not disdain anything for the sake of
financial or social profit. Golden Greek. And his Greek roots were exactly the
reason why junior Onassis left his native Izmir seeking for better life. The
town belonged to Turkey and Greek people there were suppressed, and Ari's
father (short name for Aristotle) was even imprisoned. And Onassis managed to
rescue his father from prison revealing outstanding resource.
And his
father advised that Ari tried his fortune abroad. Aristotle intended to
leave for America at the first thought but he had no years available to sit and
wait for visa to receive. Therefore, he decided for Argentina.
Onassis got
a job of a dispatcher to a telephone company. He worked days and nights.
Due to his curiousness or purposefully he
got interested in listening to telephone talks since he was operating the
switchboard. And very soon he realized how he could earn his first serious
money. And this was selling tales of others.
Another income
source of this young Greek man was Turkish tobacco. Ari's father after
being escaped from the prison was involved in this business at home and he
would send to his son first class tobacco. With his business sense Ari felt
like taking advantage of the fact that there in Argentina aromatic tobacco from
the east is not popular and in a little while he set a quite legal importing
business going.
By the year
1930 году Onassis
in his early 20s earned his first million. He was supposed to purchase the title
of the Greek Consul in Buenos-Aires, and therewith he would import tobacco in the
context of the Greek-Argentinean Agreement concluded on an official basis.
During Great
Depression time Onassis purchased a few outdated ships. Yet, that was
not so easy to enter into the serious business of carriage by sea. Nevertheless
he got lucky and in 1934 he got acquainted with Ingeborga Dedihen, the daughter
of the Norwegian shipping magnate. We should say to support Ari that he was
actually in love that occasion. And that was later when he used this beauty who
yielded to his courting to enter the elite club with access for only the
greatest ship owners in the world.
During the Second
World War Onassis grew rich for approximately 30 million dollars. He let
his ships on lease to the disposal of allies, the Japanese and the Deutsch. He
was not a man of the strict morality. As he would say, "Money does not smell".
Full in
money Onassis made a decision to increase his social status. At the age of
40 years he yearned for getting married to the heiress of the noble and rich
Tina Livanos, offspring of the Greek family, 16-year old girl. Overcoming the resistance
of her father he married to her in 1946 году in the Orthodox Church in New York.
And a year after the Onassis family enjoyed the son Alexander and in three year
a daughter Christina.
Nevertheless
Ari went on playing around women. Moreover he did not think to hide it.
And in 1959 in
Venice he met Maria Callas, a famous opera diva. In the hot passion Onassis
invited her and her husband to have a Mediterranean cruise on his enormous
yacht "Christina" named after his daughter. And on the board of this ship Ari and
Maria abandoned themselves to a passion and poor Tina put wise about the
infidelity of their spouses to the husband of the opera diva. Onassis offered
compensation to him but the latter refused. Yet Maria decided in favor of the
millionaire. In the meantime Onassis made use of this woman's connections for
the sake of his profit. Maria helped Onassis get welcomed into the greatest
families of Europe where she performed herself.
However, Maria
did not marry this businessman as his second wife and this was in spite of the
fact that she met no obstacles, since Tina appealed herself for divorce. There appeared another woman who mesmerized
Onassis and his need in vanity should have been satisfied by possessing her. He
dared to court the widow of the U.S. President, Jacqueline Kennedy.
The second
marriage was a real bargain. Jacqueline was in need of money and care.
And under the Covenant of marriage terms Ari would transfer to her account US$3
million for her and $1million for each son. Nevertheless the ex-first lady
stayed unsatisfied with such a minor amount of money. She rushed to spend
enormous amount of money for clothing, shoes, with the manic stubbornness.
First Onassis enjoyed that thing but later he got displeased with that.
Consequently
Onassis returned to Maria Callas. But the fortune was not ever on his
side. In 1973 his son, Alexander died in the airplane crush. Then his ex-wife Christina
committed a suicide with taking pills and exactly this was chose his daughter
Christina and moreover Onassis was found to be death-sick.
And on
March 15, 1975 Aristotle Onassis passed away.
Alexey Chernov
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