Giannis Vardinogiannis
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Giannis Vardinogiannis ( el, Γιάννης Βαρδινογιάννης, born 7 April 1962) is a Greek billionaire shipping magnate, the eldest son of petroleum tycoon
Vardis Vardinogiannis Vardis Vardinogiannis ( el, Βαρδής Βαρδινογιάννης) is a Greek billionaire oil and shipping businessman. He is the chairman and controlling shareholder of Motor Oil Hellas, Vegas Oil and Gas and involved in numerous other sh ...
. He is included in the
Lloyd's List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and is ...
''Most influential people in the shipping industry''.


Early life and career

Vardinogiannis is of
Cretan Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
descent. After graduating from the
Athens College Athens College ( el, Κολλέγιο(ν) Αθηνών; formally Hellenic-American Educational Foundation (HAEF)) is a co-educational private preparatory school in Psychiko, Greece, a suburb of Athens, part of the Hellenic-American Educational ...
preparatory school, he majored in economics at
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
in the United States. He is a former
car rally Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...
champion who owns the private rally team Cyclon Rally Sport, with seven participations (from 1986 to 1992) in the international
Acropolis Rally The Acropolis Rally of Greece ( el, Ράλλυ Ακρόπολις) is a rally competition that is part of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The rally is held on very dusty, rough, rocky and fast mountain roads in mainland Greece, usually duri ...
. He was the first Greek driver in Acropolis Rally for five years from 1988 to 1992. He won the Greek Rally title six times (1987 to 1992), driving
Lancia Delta The Lancia Delta is a small family car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia in three generations. The first generation (1979-1994) debuted at the 1979 Frankfurt Motor Show, the second generation (1993-1999) debuted at the 1993 Genev ...
with co-driver Kostas Stefanis. Since his retirement from the sport, in 1993, he works in the family business (
Vardinogiannis Vardinogiannis ( gr, Βαρδινογιάννης) is a Greek surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Giannis Vardinogiannis (born 1962), Greek entrepreneur *Vardis Vardinogiannis (born 1931), Greek oil and shipping tycoon *Yiorgos Vard ...
group of companies A corporate group or group of companies is a collection of parent and subsidiary corporations that function as a single economic entity through a common source of control. These types of groups are often managed by an account manager. The concept ...
), which has diverse sectors such as energy, oil refineries, shipping, television broadcasting, publishing and banking. The Vardinogiannis family owns the multi-billion oil refining company
Motor Oil Hellas Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries S.A. ( el, Μότορ Όιλ (Ελλάς) Διυλιστήρια Κορίνθου Α.Ε.) is a petroleum industry based in Greece focusing on oil refining and trading. It is a leading force in its sector in S ...
, where he is a member of the board of directors as the executive vice chairman, and also serves shipping company Avin International S.A., and
Piraeus Bank Piraeus Bank ( el, Τράπεζα Πειραιώς) is a Greek multinational financial services company with its headquarters in Athens, Greece. Piraeus Bank's shares have been listed on the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) since January 1918. In G ...
. In May 1996, he was married to Mellissa Gromel and now has three sons. He is the principal shareholder of the Cairo-based Vegas Oil and Gas.


As owner of Panathinaikos F.C.

In the summer of 2000, the President of
Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
,
Yiorgos Vardinogiannis Yiorgos Vardinogiannis ( el, Γιώργος Βαρδινογιάννης) is a Greek businessman and a shipping magnate, former owner and president of the Panathinaikos football club. He was born in Episkopi, Rethymno in 1936. He is the brothe ...
resigned from his duties and sold his share to his nephew Giannis Vardinogiannis, who succeeded him and changed the style of management into the club (while continuing to work for various family companies). In 2005, he was a founding member of the
Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...
and was elected president in 2007, being credited in his efforts to achieve European league standards in Greece. On 22 April 2008, main shareholder Vardinogiannis gave a press conference in which he announced the decision of his family to reduce their share in the club to 50% – after 30 years of full ownership – through an €80 million increase of the company's capital stock. After the negotiations and the share capital increase, the Vardinogiannis family would hold 56% of the club, Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos 10% and the rest shareholders 34%. The Vardinogiannis family finally withdrew from Panathinaikos in 2012. The team had the following successes as an owner of Panathinaikos: * Quarter-finals in Champions League: 2001–02 * Quarter-finals in Uefa Cup: 2002–03 * Greek Championship: 2004, 2010 * Greek Cup: 2004, 2010


Political views

In February 2015, Vardinogiannis said in a statement to ''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
'' that the new Prime Minister of Greece
Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras ( el, Αλέξης Τσίπρας, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician serving as Leader of the Official Opposition since 2019. He served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019. Tsipras has led the Coalition of th ...
had a valid point in attacking corrupt Greek oligarchs.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vardinogiannis, Giannis Living people 1962 births Greek businesspeople Greek football chairmen and investors Greek rally drivers Vassar College alumni Greek male sport shooters Panathinaikos A.O. Panathinaikos F.C. People in the petroleum industry People named in the Paradise Papers Businesspeople from Heraklion