Vardis Vardinoyannis, Greek business magnate and Kennedy family friend, dies at 90

Associated Press

Vardis J. Vardinoyannis, a powerful and pivotal figure in Greek shipping and energy who survived a terrorist attack and cultivated close ties with the Kennedy family, has died in Athens, aged 90. His death was announced by Motor Oil Hellas, the petroleum company he transformed into one of Greece’s largest corporations. Vardinoyannis embodied the archetype of the Greek shipping magnate, becoming a powerbroker at the head of one of the country’s most influential families, with interests in shipping, banking, hotels, sports clubs, newspapers and national television networks. Greece’s conservative prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis praised his extensive charity work.