Is Onassis Heiress Really a Billionaire?
N E W Y O R K, March 14, 2003 -- Not since Princess Diana bore the heir to the British throne has the international press so loudly trumpeted a birthday.
When Onassis heiress, Athina Roussel, turned 18 in late January, she inherited the mantle of one of the world's renowned shipping empires, founded by her grandfather Aristotle Onassis. Press reports suggested that Athina's inheritance, held in trust since her mother Christina died in 1988, is worth as much as $3 billion.
Her portfolio was reported to include the Olympic shipping entities, as well as luxury real estate in London, Paris and St. Moritz. She also laid claim to the famed Greek island of Skorpios, where Aristotle wed Jacqueline Kennedy in 1968.
But above and beyond these, which were well known as belonging to the Onassis clan, there were stupefying reports of other assets, like a Brazilian baby food factory, gold bullion, an airline, a Japanese electronics concern, even an Iranian chemical company. As many as 300 oddball companies were held in trust for her, some reported.
Call it a case of Greek myth. There is no proof that the Onassis family ever owned most of these. "The list is quite fancy and thoroughly inaccurate," Barbara Charamis told us in 1996.
What Did She Actually Inherit?
Charamis should know. She handles public relations for the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, which was established by Aristotle Onassis in memory of his son, who died in a 1973 plane crash. Ari's will dictated that his assets be equally divided between daughter Christina and the Onassis Foundation.
Christina, who died at the age of 37 while on vacation in Argentina, left her fortune to her only child, Athina, just 3 at the time of her mother's death. The estate was to be supervised by a five-person advisory board consisting of Christina's ex-husband — Athina's father — Thierry Roussel and four of Aristotle's business confidants.
But Roussel and the foundation executives fought bitterly over how to run the estate. In 1999, Swiss courts handed over the administration of Athina's fortune to KPMG Fides, a Swiss auditing firm, which keeps the portfolio a closely guarded secret.
"We cannot give any statements on our clients," said Alfred Raucheisen, a spokesman for KPMG Fides.
Short of an Athina tell-all, there's no way to confirm what she actually inherited. Part of the problem rests with the administration of her estate before KPMG stepped in, when assets were bought and sold at the direction of Roussel and the Greek executives.
Example: Christina Onassis co-owned with the foundation Manhattan's Olympic Tower, a Fifth Avenue office and luxury condo high-rise that housed the New York shipping offices. Roussel is believed to have sold Athina's half to the foundation in the late 1980s for roughly $50 million. (Had he held on to it, that half would be worth three times as much today.) How many other properties and businesses were unloaded, and for what price, is anybody's guess.
Lavish Lifestyles, Declining Businesses
Roussel has been accused publicly of mismanaging the estate by foundation executives — "graybeards" as he prefers to call them. In 1998 he sat for an interview with Diane Sawyer to answer questions about his reputedly checkered business background. He denied charges of bankrupting businesses and profligate spending of Athina's fortune.
Gregory Maniatis, editor of the Greek magazine Odyssey, couldn't help but ask, "Would you want your inheritance managed by four men who helped Onassis become a billionaire … or would you rather have your money handled by a man… whose best-known business venture was losing $30 million on strawberry farms in Portugal?"
Roussel denied the claim. "Ask somebody to prove it," he challenged Sawyer.
The foundation's executives are also believed to have tinkered with the portfolio in the past. According to Nigel Lowry of the shipping publication Lloyd's List International, the graybeards liquidated some of the Onassis fleet, deeming the assets too risky for the portfolio of a minor. It's virtually impossible to establish what else was bought and sold without a peek at the books.
What's more, the Onassis fortune, linchpinned on shipping fleets, looked to be in serious decline even before Aristotle Onassis' death. In February 1974, 13 months before Aristotle's' death, we published Is Croesus Losing His Touch?
We wondered how well Onassis was faring given that the bulk of his fleet was in the so-called "spot market" business; that is, they rented for single voyages. The spot market was a risky bet that failed after the Arab oil embargo in the early 1970s sharply drove up oil prices. That, in turn, soured the demand for tankers and pushed the entire industry into a depression.
We questioned Onassis' extravagant lifestyle, citing a report that he burned through $20 million during his first year of marriage to Jackie O. (In today's dollars, that's some $100 million.)
"Nobody thinks Onassis is down to his last penny," we reported. "But even with his skill in avoiding income taxes, his style of living is a constant strain on his finances."
It's worth noting that Christina Onassis, who took over Olympic after her father's death, also faced criticism for the declining state of the business, as well her decadent lifestyle. She famously imported Diet Coke to Greece on her private plane and lavished gifts of all kinds on Athina.
But Is She a Billionaire?
Today Olympic is a midsized fleet of some 15 vessels, though in Aristotle's heyday it was one of the world's largest. Most are dry bulk freighters and oil tankers, in total worth roughly $300 million, according to industry experts. Though it's not one of the largest fleets, Olympic is highly regarded.
"The Onassis name sometimes comes with a cowboy asset-trading mentality, but this is hardly the case," says Matthew McCleery, president of Marine Money. "This is a first-class company with an outstanding reputation."
As for the airline, Aristotle did own a 23-plane carrier called Olympic Airways. But in the early 1970s it suffered from diminished travel and rising costs. Besides, Athina couldn't have inherited it, since he sold it to the Greek government in 1975 for a reported $68 million.
Perhaps one of the most valuable assets bequeathed to Athina is Skorpios, the Onassis refuge in the Aegean. Today the island is virtually empty of inhabitants. Visitors are forbidden, and guards watch the shores to prevent interlopers from trespassing. The lore of the island, let alone the Pink House (Jackie's villa), tennis courts and lavish gardens, could garner a $200 million price tag, according to John Greer, president of Unusual Villa Rentals, a luxury real estate broker.
There are other properties, including apartments on Paris' Avenue Foch. A home in London's high-end Mayfair district. Villas in St. Moritz and likely elsewhere. While those add at least another $50 million to her net worth, her fortune is still far short of the $1 billion attributed to her.
Athina also needs to contend with overhead. Estimates differ, but Roussel is said to receive at least $1.5 million annually for the rest of his life as part of Christina's will. The Greek executors also received sizable annuities. A full-time staff, albeit spartan, is said to exist on Skorpios, in anticipation of the off-chance Athina might stop by for a visit. Staffs are on retainer at other Onassis properties.
In three years, when she turns 21, Athina will inherit the chairmanship of the foundation as well as the half of the Onassis fortune that the foundation inherited. She will probably join our billionaires list at that time, and likely not before.
For more, go to Forbes.com..