Ioannis "Yiannis" Latsis (14 September 1910 – 17 April 2003), also known as John Spyridon Latsis, was a Greek shipping multi-billionaire business magnate notable for his great wealth, influential friends, and charitable activities.
The year of his death (2003), Forbes magazine ranked Yiannis Latsis number 101 on its list of the world's richest people, with a fortune estimated at $6.4 billion.
Biography
Latsis was born in Katakolo, a fishing village in the Elis. His family was from the Greek community in Albania. He was the sixth of nine children, the son of Spiro Latsis and Aphrodite Efthimiou.[1] He was educated at the Pyrgos School of Commerce and the Merchant Marine Academy (Greece).[2]
He started as a deckhand, eventually working his way up to ship's captain in the merchant marine.[2] After the Second World War, Latsis expanded his activities into coastal shipping with the purchase of used passenger vessels.