John Angelicoussis, Greece’s largest shipowner in dwt terms, died on Saturday at a hospital in Athens, 20 days after suffering a severe heart attack.
The 72-year-old magnate took over the Angelicoussis Shipping Group in 1989 after the death of his father and grew it into one of the world’s largest shipping organisations.
Angelicoussis’s daughter, Maria, who has been acting CEO for the past three weeks, will now take the reins at the company.
Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis paid tribute to the legacy of Angelicoussis, praising his contributions to the national maritime industry as well as many recent donations in the country’s fight against coronavirus.
Angelicoussis was not just the greatest Greek shipowner. He was a pioneer at all levels
Greece’s minister of shipping, Ioannis Plakiotakis, hailed Chios-born Angelicoussis as a “great Greek” and an “emblematic figure in world shipping”.
Deputy foreign minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis commented: “John Angelicoussis was not just the greatest Greek shipowner. He was a pioneer at all levels.”
Angelicoussis’s funeral is scheduled for Monday. His family has asked for no flowers or wreathes and instead for donations to be made to the Nikaia hospital, an institution in Piraeus the tycoon supported for many years.
