Editing Aristotle Onassis (section)

== Business ==

===Shipping===
Onassis built up a fleet of [[Cargo ship|freighters]] and [[Tanker (ship)|tankers]] that eventually exceeded seventy vessels. Most of the fleet operated under [[flags of convenience]] where laws and regulations are looser than those of the owners' country. More austere regulations in countries such as the United States, which afforded higher wages and safety standards, allowed access to domestic routes with higher freight rates but at far greater running expense. As was then common practice in international shipping, Onassis's fleet had mostly Panamanian and Liberian flags and sailed tax-free while operating at low cost. This and his astute business sense helped Onassis earn handsome profits in the highly competitive shipping market. Onassis made large profits when the [[Big Oil]] companies like [[Mobil]], [[Socony]], and [[Texaco]] signed long-term contracts known as time charters at fixed prices before the stock market fell.

The high profitability of the Onassis fleet has been attributed in large part to his disregard for standards that normally govern international shipping.<ref>Mostert, Noel (1974). ''Supership''. Alfred A Knopf Inc. {{ISBN|9780394494807}}</ref> For example, after his Liberian-registered tanker {{SS|Arrow}} ran aground and spilled oil into [[Chedabucto Bay]], [[Nova Scotia]] in 1970, still the most significant oil spill off Canada's East Coast <ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Transport |date=2019-12-17 |title=Vessel safety, spill prevention and response |url=https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-pollution-environmental-response/vessel-safety-spill-prevention-response |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=AEAD 11269757 |language=en-CA}}</ref> (about 25% of the amount spilled by the ''[[Exxon Valdez]]'' in Alaska in 1989), there was a [[Commission of Inquiry]]. Led by [[Patrick McTaggart-Cowan]], executive director of the [[Science Council of Canada]], the Commission found that the ''Arrow'' had been operating with almost none of its navigation equipment serviceable:<ref>Mostert, Noel. Ibid. Chapter 3, pp 59–60.</ref> "[[radar]] had ceased to function an hour before the ship struck; the [[echo sounder]] had not been in working condition for two months; and the [[gyrocompass]]... had a permanent error of three degrees west. The officer on watch at the time of the accident, the ship's third officer, "had no license" and none of the crew had any navigational skill except the master, "and there are even doubts about his ability."

===Monaco===
Onassis arrived in the Mediterranean principality of [[Monaco]] in 1953 and began to purchase the shares of Monaco's [[Société des bains de mer de Monaco]] (SBM) via the use of [[Front company|front companies]] in the [[tax haven]] of Panama, and took control of the organisation in the summer of that year. Onassis moved his headquarters into the Old Sporting Club on Monaco's Avenue d'Ostende shortly after taking control of the SBM. The SBM was a significant owner of property in Monaco: its assets included the [[Monte Carlo Casino]], the [[Yacht Club de Monaco|Monaco Yacht Club]], the [[Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo|Hôtel de Paris]] and a third of the country's acreage.{{sfn|Evans|1987|p=113}} Onassis's takeover of the SBM was initially welcomed by Monaco's ruler, [[Rainier III, Prince of Monaco|Prince Rainier III]] as the country required investment,{{sfn|Evans|1987|p=114}} but Onassis and Rainier's relationship had deteriorated by 1962 in the wake of the boycott of Monaco by the French President, [[Charles de Gaulle]].{{sfn|Evans|1987|p=199}}

Onassis and Rainier had differing visions for Monaco. Onassis wished the country to remain a resort for an exclusive clientele, but Rainier wished to build hotels and attract a greater number of tourists.<ref>"Obituary: Prince Rainier III of Monaco.", ''The Times'', London, 7 April 2005, p. 58.</ref> Monaco had become less attractive as a tax haven in the wake of France's actions, and Rainier urged Onassis to invest in the construction of hotels.<ref>Nuzum, Thomas (5 December 1965). [http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1965/12/05/page/33/article/monte-carlo-has-a-good-feud-but-glamor-is-gone "Monte Carlo Has a Good Feud, but Glamor Is Gone"], ''The Chicago Tribune'',  Section 1B, p. 1</ref> Onassis was reluctant to invest in hotels without a guarantee from Rainier that no other competing hotel development would be permitted, but promised to build two hotels and an apartment block. Unwilling to give Onassis his guarantee, Rainier used his veto to cancel the entire hotel project, and publicly attacked SBM for their 'bad faith' on television, implicitly criticising Onassis. Rainier and Onassis remained at odds over the direction of the company for several years and in June 1966 Rainier approved a plan to create 600,000 new shares in SBM to be permanently held by the state,<ref>"Mr. Onassis In Monaco Law Battle.", ''The Times'', London, 22 August 1966, p. 6.</ref> which reduced Onassis's stake from 52% to under a third.{{sfn|Evans|1987|p=204}} In the Supreme Court of Monaco the share creation was challenged by Onassis who claimed that it was unconstitutional, but the court found against him in March 1967. Following the ruling Onassis sold his holdings in SBM to the state of Monaco and left the country.{{sfn|Evans|1987|p=206}} According to Frank Brady in ''Onassis: An Extravagant Life'', Onassis's words about the issue were: "We were [[wikt:gyp|gypped]]."

===Saudi Arabia===
During the oil boom of the 1950s Onassis was in final discussions with the King of Saudi Arabia for securing a tanker transport deal.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Nathan J. Citino|title=Defending the 'postwar petroleum order': The US, Britain and the 1954 Saudi-Onassis Tanker deal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09592290008406160|journal=Diplomacy and Statecraft|date=2000 |volume=11|issue=2|page=146|doi=10.1080/09592290008406160|s2cid=154961797}}</ref> Since the Arabian-American Oil Co. (currently, Saudi Arabian Oil Company, but still known as [[Aramco]]) had a monopoly on Saudi oil by a concession agreement, the US government was alarmed by the tanker deal. By 1954, a specific U.S. policy for Saudi Arabia, in addition to strengthening the US "special position," was to take "all appropriate measures to bring about the cancellation" of an agreement between the Saudi government and Onassis to transport Saudi oil on his tankers and "in any case, to make the agreement ineffective".  [Doc. 128] The arrangement would have ended monopoly control of Saudi Arabia's oil by American oil companies, but was forestalled by the US government.<ref>{{cite web|title=US Objectives and Policies with respect to the Near East|url=http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB78/propaganda%20127.pdf|access-date=10 April 2014|author=National Security Council|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140617104215/http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB78/propaganda%20127.pdf|archive-date=17 June 2014|location=The National Security Archive|page=6|year=1954|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> 
 
For this reason he became a target of the US government and in 1954, the [[FBI]] investigated Onassis for fraud against the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]]. He was charged with violating the citizenship provision of the shipping laws which require that [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|all ships displaying the U.S. flag be owned by U.S. citizens]]. Onassis entered a guilty plea and paid $7 million.<ref>{{cite web|title=FBI Vaults File: Aristotle Onassis Part 2 of 11|url=http://vault.fbi.gov/Aristotle%20Onassis/Aristotle%20Onassis%20Part%202%20of%2011|access-date=6 March 2015|publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]|page=5|year=1968}}</ref>

=== Whaling ===
Between 1950 and 1956, Onassis had success [[whaling]] off the west coast of South America. His first expedition made a net profit of US$4.5 million. International agreements limited the number, size and dates between which whales could be taken. The Onassis factory ship and its attendant catcher ships paid little attention to these restrictions.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tonnessen |first1=J. N. |last2=Johnsen |first2=A.O. |title=The History of Modern Whaling |date=1982 |publisher=C. Hurst & Company |location=London |isbn=0905838238 |pages=533–7, 555–61}}</ref> ''The Norwegian Whaling Gazette'' made accusations based on sailors' testimonials, such as one given by Bruno Schalaghecke, who worked on the factory ship ''Olympic Challenger'': "Pieces of fresh meat from the 124 whales we killed yesterday still remains on the deck. Among them all, just one could be considered adult. All animals that pass within the range of the harpoon are killed in cold blood."

In 1954 the government of Peru claimed the Onassis fleet were whaling within {{convert|200|mi|order=flip}} of the coast of Peru without permission and sent naval vessels to intercept them. Peruvian air force planes were also sent and dropped bombs that exploded near the factory ship. Most vessels in the fleet were captured by the Peruvian vessels and taken to [[Paita|Payta]] where they were interned.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The man whose whalers have been seized by Peru: Mr Onassis |journal=The Illustrated London News |date=27 November 1954 |volume=6032 |issue=255 |page=961}}</ref>

The venture came to an end after the business was sold to Kyokuyo Hogei Kaisha Whaling Company, one of the biggest [[Whaling in Japan|Japanese whaling]] companies, for $8.5 million.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dorsey |first=Kurkpatrick |date=2013 |title=Whaling and Nations: Environmental Diplomacy on the High Seas |page=151 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0295995595}}</ref> Norwegian authorities suspected the involvement of [[Hjalmar Schacht]] in Onassis's whaling enterprises. Schacht had previously been connected with Onassis's Saudi Arabian deals.{{sfn|Evans|1987|p=140}}

=== Olympic Airways ===
[[File:Boeing_707-384B_SX-DBF_Olympic_ATH_22.04.73_edited-2.jpg|thumb|Olympic Airways Boeing 707, 1973]]
In 1956, Greek airlines in general faced economic difficulties, whereby companies like [[TAE Greek National Airlines|TAE]] were affected by strikes and cash shortage. The Greek government decided to give this and other companies to the private sector, and, on 30 July 1956, Onassis signed a contract granting him the operational rights to the Greek air transport industry. When Onassis heard during the negotiations that he would not be able to use the five Olympic rings in his logo due to copyright issues, he simply decided to add a sixth ring.
 
Operation effectively started in 1957, with one DC-4, two DC-6s and 13 DC-3s. The following year saw 244,000 passengers transported. The agreement lasted until 10 December 1974, when a number of factors (namely, a series of strikes, shortage of passengers, fuel price increase, and a law from the new Greek government forbidding Olympic Airways to fire employees) led Onassis to terminate his contract.

Following this event, Paul Ioannidis, a high-ranking director from Olympic Airways, said the following of Onassis: "Deep down, [he] did not want to relinquish Olympic Airways. He found it flattering to own an airline. It was something in which he took deep pride. It was his accomplishment. He was married to the sea, but Olympic was his mistress. We used to say that he would spend all the money he made at sea with his mistress in the sky."

Onassis's time at the head of Olympic Airways is known as a golden era, due to investments he made in training and the acquisition of cutting-edge technology. For example, in 1959, he signed a deal with [[De Havilland]] to buy four [[De Havilland Comet|Comet 4B jets]]. Onassis was also renowned for his attention to service quality, which led him to buy gold-plated utensils and candles for the dining service of the first-class section.

During 1974, the last year of Onassis's involvement with the company, Olympic Airways transported 2.5 million passengers and had a work force of 7,356 persons. At the time, his ownership of Olympic Airways distinguished Onassis as one of only two men in the world to own a private airline, the other being [[Howard Hughes]] of [[TWA]].<ref>{{cite book|last= Ioannidis|first=Paul|year=2015|title= Destiny Prevails: My Life with Aristotle, Alexander, Christina Onassis and her daughter, Athina|location=New York|publisher=Significance Press-paperback or kindle edition|isbn=978-0990757474}}
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=== Investments ===
[[File:Olympic Tower NY by David Shankbone.JPG|thumb|upright|Onassis financed the construction of the [[Olympic Tower]] in New York City.]]
Onassis was involved in the privatization of the Greek national airline and founded the privatized Olympic Airways (today [[Olympic Air]]) in 1957.
Stocks accounted for one-third of his capital, held in oil companies in the United States, the Middle East, and Venezuela. He also owned additional shares that secured his control of 95 multinational businesses in five continents. He owned gold-processing plants in Argentina and Uruguay and a large share in an airline in Latin America and $4 million worth of investments in Brazil. Also, he owned companies like Olympic Maritime and Olympic Tourist; a chemical company in Persia; apartments in Paris, London, Monte Carlo, Athens, and Acapulco; a castle in South France; the [[Olympic Tower]] (a 52-storey high-rise in Manhattan); another building in Sutton Place; Olympic Airways and Air Navigation; the island of [[Skorpios]]; the {{convert|325|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} luxury yacht ''[[Christina O]]'' and, finally, deposit accounts and accounts in treasuries in 217 banks in the whole world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.onasis.gr/|title=Onasis.gr – Everything about Aristotelis Onasis|website=onasis.gr|access-date=28 November 2017|archive-date=28 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828115014/http://www.onasis.gr/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Project Omega===
In October 1968, amidst the [[Greek military junta of 1967–74|Greek military junta]] and shortly after his marriage to [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Jacqueline Kennedy]], Onassis announced the launch of Project Omega, a $400 million investment program that aimed to build considerable industrial infrastructure in Greece including an oil refinery and aluminum smelter. Onassis had cultivated Greek junta dictator [[Georgios Papadopoulos]], for his assistance with the scheme, loaning Papadopoulos the use of his villa and buying dresses for his wife.{{sfn|Evans|1987|p=231}} The project was financially supported by the American bank First National City, and Onassis's American financial supporters eventually tired of the unfavourable terms demanded by him. The project was heavily criticized by people such as [[Helen Vlachos]], a journalist from Athens. Another Greek Colonel, [[Nikolaos Makarezos]], preferred a deal offered by Onassis's rival, [[Stavros Niarchos]], and the project was eventually split between them. The failure was due partly to opposition from influential people within the military junta, such as Ioannis-Orlandos Rodinos, [[Deputy Minister]] of Economic Coordination, who opposed Onassis's offers in preference to Niarchos.{{sfn|Evans|1987|p=237}}