Skorpios or Scorpios (, ) is a private island in the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

off the western coast of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and just to the east of the island of

Lefkada Lefkada (, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas (Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island in the Ionian Sea on the ...

. The 2011 census reported a population of five inhabitants. Administratively it is part of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Meganisi Meganisi (Greek language, Greek: Μεγανήσι, literally "big island") is a Greece, Greek island and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality immediately to the east-southeast of the island of Lefkada. The municipality includes t ...

in Lefkada regional unit.

Geography

The island, spanning 83.2 hectares (roughly 205 acres), is irregularly shaped, with main axes about and . It is heavily forested from south to north and features over 200 varieties of trees imported to the once nearly barren island by

Aristotle Onassis Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; , ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine business magnate. He amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was marri ...

. There are some sandy beaches, most notably East Beach, which was created by Onassis, who brought sand from

Salamis Island Salamis ( ; ) or Salamina () is the largest Greece, Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, about from the coast of Athens' port of Piraeus and about west of Athens center. The chief city, Salamina (city), Salamina, lies in the west-facing core of ...

for this purpose. It is home to three residences, a helicopter landing pad and a boat quay. Onassis also built harbor facilities in the bay on the north side for his ''

Christina O ''Christina O'' is a private motor yacht that once belonged to billionaire Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis. At 99.13 metres long, she was the 59th largest yacht in the world . History The ship originally served as a Canadian anti-submarine ...

'' yacht. The island water originates on a mountain from a nearby island which is estimated to cost about 100 million euros.

History

Skorpios is primarily known as the private island of the late Greek

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

billionaire

. It was bought in 1963 and believed to have cost him the equivalent of about €11,000 of today's money (2015). Numerous high profile parties were hosted during the time of Aristotle Onassis. Skorpios was also the site of his wedding to former United States First Lady

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

on October 20, 1968. In 1971,

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

was photographed nude by an Italian paparazzo on a Skorpios beach. Upon Onassis's death the island was passed to his daughter Christina, and then in turn to her daughter Athina Onassis, the only surviving heir. Onassis, his son Alexander, and his daughter Christina are all buried on the island.

Rybolovlev long term lease

In April 2013, Ekaterina Rybolovleva, the 24-year-old daughter of Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev bought through her trust from Athina Onassis a group of companies for $153 million. The assets included a long term lease to Skorpios and its smaller islet, Sparti. Beginning in October 2018 and with a completion date of 2020, Rybolovleva began developing a luxury resort on Skorpios for a total investment estimated at €184 million. The island is a Natura 2000 protected area with no more than 5% of its area to be developed. The Greek government is yet to confirm the legality of the purchase. An investigation is underway, as Giannis Mihelakis (a New Democracy MP) raised the question in the Greek parliament. Specifically, Onassis stated in his will that the island would remain in the family as long as they could afford to cover its maintenance expenses. According to the will, if his descendants could not cover the expenses, the island would be donated either to the now defunct Olympic Airlines or to the state.

References

External links

Official website of Municipality of Meganisi
{{Athina Onassis Islands of the Ionian Islands (region) Private islands of Greece Onassis family Landforms of Lefkada (regional unit) Aristotle Onassis