The informed reader, who wishes to delve deeper into the history of the Onassis Foundation and, inevitably, into the past of Greek shipping, must bear one basic principle in mind: that large organisations and businesses are defined by the personality of their founder. The same, to a degree, is true for entire states. The founder in some way conveys the essence of his or her personality to their ‘child’, in what they leave behind. I have seen this with companies that have, for example, a French or German or Italian ‘character’, depending on the entrepreneur who originally created them. Other companies are more rigid, structured according to defined procedures and inviolable rules. Ultimately, I would say, that they have Calvinistic characteristics. Still others have a lighter – perhaps even ‘chaotic’ – way of functioning that offers flexibility and adaptability.

I believe that the Onassis Foundation is a good example of this theory. We are certainly defined by the character of Aristotle Onassis and his choices. I have noted on many occasions that he gave the Foundation the name of his son and not his own. He wished it to be called the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation. We continue symbolically from that point, giving life to Aristotle Onassis’s vision so that not only his name continues, but something else that is more important: the very genius and passion that possessed him.

The general image of Aristotle Onassis in the collective unconscious is a mixed one. He undoubtedly retains the somewhat vague persona of an exceptionally successful entrepreneur, with a social presence but also a tragic element. These last two aspects in particular have been analysed ad nauseam in historical works. There are now so many publications and myths of his relationships with Maria Callas, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and other figures; the tragic death of his son Alexander, the fate of Christina, and more recently, that of Athina, that there is no point trying to keep up with them. Almost 50 years after his death, out of nowhere, the memories of some elderly people have popped up, who remember something significant about Onassis’s life in the 1970s or even 1960s.

The real gap in the history of Onassis has been that of his business activities, his innovation and the disruption that his genius and passion brought to shipping – and much more. This gap is filled by the Professor of Maritime and Economic History of the University of Crete and Director of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Gelina Harlaftis, along with the team of researchers she put together. Their first task was to document and organise the Onassis Archive, the collection that I myself have taken care of for many years. Initially as a young lawyer and later in other positions, I was aware of the importance of preserving whatever evidence could be salvaged from the ravages of time, and also, to gather the memories of the people who had actually lived and worked with Onassis. They all had a sense of responsibility, and because of the old code of honour, remained silent. They were encouraged, however, when they understood that a serious and scholarly documentation of his life and work would be completed, devoid of any scandal-mongering or opportunistic namedropping. This archive was scattered, in many locations, disorganised, and almost beginning to disintegrate. Now, thanks to the efforts of the archival team under the supervision of Amalia Pappa, Deputy Director of the General State Archives, it is excellently organised and accessible.

The second step in this effort is this book. From the very beginning, as President of the Onassis Foundation, I gave instructions that Professor Harlaftis was to have full access to all our archives, and the freedom to document and relate whatever her scholarly responsibility dictated. Let’s not kid ourselves: not all of Onassis’s projects were a success. When our founder passed away, he was not the richest man in the world, nor even the richest Greek shipowner. His family life was not exemplary, nor did he make sure to pass on to his surviving daughter his personal skills. He had relationships that today, by the values of our time, would require an explanation. However, judging his business activity as a whole, it is clear that his thought process, the initiatives he took, and the resistance he showed to adversity, were completely unique and of historic significance. He led his era to new ways of doing business. He opened up paths where they did not exist. He believed that: “We must free ourselves from the hope that the sea will calm down. We must learn to sail with the strong winds too.”

This legacy deserves to be documented. Onassis passed away in 1975. His business activities had started in 1924. It is rare internationally for shipping legacies to survive almost fifty years after the death of their founder. Even fewer are those that not only survive, but which have multiplied in total value, while at the same time pursuing charitable activities: this is the case with the Onassis Foundation. We owe this to the outlook and entrepreneurial spirit of Aristotle Onassis himself, which has been preserved, developed, and advanced by Onassis’s people, those whom he himself chose to comprise the first Board of Directors of the Foundation. Each of these individuals were different, each had his or her own history and personal perspectives, his or her own strengths and weaknesses. All together they succeeded, despite some infighting and adversity, in passing on to the present day that spirit, that willingness to take risks and to innovate and disrupt, but with the intent to operate with a social conscience. Onassis’s own model became the model for our own actions: behind entrepreneurial activity, we see social welfare. We promote the potential of the ‘other’ Greece at its best. We liberate forces on land and sea. We put humankind at the centre.

The history of Aristotle Onassis’s business extends over five continents, six decades, and seven seas. The writing of this history is an honour for, as well as a debt of the Onassis Foundation. Above all, it is an opportunity for us, those who still survive, to explain what it is that the foundation carries within, and which drives us.

Anthony S. Papadimitriou

President of the Onassis Foundation