Greek shipping patriarch Pericles Panagopoulos, 83 passes

Pericles Panagopoulos was being treated in hospital with serious health problems.
His passing was announced by his wife, Katerina Panagopoulou via a Facebook post. “He completed his worldly course, in peace, at home, with his wife, children and grandchildren at his side, as he wished”, the post read.

His funeral will take place at the Church of Saint Dionysius Aeropagitus on Friday, February 9 at 11 am.

In 2009, his net worth was estimated at $328 million. He is considered one of the most successful Greek shipping magnates since Aristotle Onassis. His death was announced by his wife, on facebook on the 5th of February, 2019.

Early Life
He was born in a nursing home in Athens. His father built hotel Veto in Athens. The hotel was taken over by Nazi officers in WWII, during the Axis occupation of Greece. After five months of hospitalization, his father died, following a violent attack by the Nazi occupiers.Leaving the young Pericles Panagopoulos, and his two half-brothers to be brought up by his widowed mother from Constantinople.

Career
In 1972 in partnership with Barney A. Ebsworth, he formed Royal Cruise Line. The m/s Golden Odyssey was the company's first cruise ship. Built in Helsingor Shipyard and delivered in 1974, she was designed to carry 450 passengers as this was the capacity of the 747 Jumbo Jet airplane. The company grew with the addition of the 850-passenger Royal Odyssey in 1982 and the 1000-passenger Crown Odyssey in 1988 before getting acquired by Kloster Cruises in 1989. In 1993, Pericles Panagopoulos co-founded with his son Alexander Superfast Ferries, as part of the Attica Group, an Athens-listed holding corporation.

In 2009 he was kidnapped by armed men in Athens. The kidnapping was orchestrated from prison by Greek crime boss Panagiotis Vlastos, who later made a failed attempt to escape prison, with a helicopter armed with improvised explosive devices and AK-47s.

His wife paid a ransom of €30 million (approximately $39 million) to secure Panagopoulos's release. The ransom was reported by Greek police to be the highest ever paid.