Aristotle Onassis – An ideal type of a modern “Neanderthal” – Epilogue (c)
Alexander Onassis (1948-1973), the only son of Aristotle Onassis, in spite of his youth and his father’s many “gold coins”, during the brief time he lived as an “adult”, he demonstrated that he not only had a strong personality and a sharp mind, but that he also faced the everyday moments of his life, with fortitude, with pathos, with a lot of sensitivity and objectivity, contrary to his father and mentor (in a negative sense). One time, while Alexander was discussing his father’s marital relations with Jackie Kennedy, he said the following:”…My father loves names (the famous and the powerful) and Jackie loves money…” (p. 1. http://thinkexist.com/quotes/alexander_onassis/).
Comments Off on Aristotle Onassis – An ideal type of a modern “Neanderthal” – Epilogue (c)
August 1, 2010
In the previous sections of our article on Aristotle Onassis, we described the strategies, the personal aspirations and the ethics of this protagonist within the context of his entrepreneurial activities worldwide ,and how he exploited in an “unfeeling” and “self-centered” manner opponents, colleagues and whole societies when these human components found themselves in a weak position. In exactly the same way , Aristotle Onassis functioned in his very personal relations, whether these were within his very own family or in the relationships he created with the 3 women who made a real imprint in his life; Athina(Tina) Livanos, Maria Callas and Jackie Kennedy.
We left “Olympic Airlines” for our “epilogue”,because I believe that it represents the business venture of Aristotle Onassis which mostly reflects the “one-dimensional” and “ruthless” personality of this greek shipping magnate(Neanderthal), but also the “fixation” of modern greeks to mythologize that which is “mediocre” and “false” in society.Examining various facts concerning “Olympic Airlines”,we become aware of the great “chasm” which exists between “modern greek myth-making” and “modern greek realities”(at all levels),as well as of the enormous “hypocricy” and “amorality”* which Onassis exercised in his life,since he always pretended to be a “down to earth” greek,who adored the greek culture(ancient and modern),who valued highly his “greek ethnicity” and was deeply in love with the natural beauties of Greece.I believe that all modern Greeks today have the “habit” of expressing this type of worship for anything which is greek;how authentic and real this feeling is,only “they” themselves know!!!
In essence,Onassis initiates his shipping activities in the beginning of the 1930s in Argentina,when he buys with his first money 2 old steamboats,which he names them “Socrates” and “Pinnelope” in honour of his parents.We Greeks,are always “first” in these acts of “superficial family sentimentality”!!But Aristotle Onassis soon realises,that the “big money” in the future ,will come from transporting “oil” by the various ocean lanes.As a consequence ,almost all his next moves in the shipping sector would be acquiring oil ship-carriers and transporting oil,especially from the oil producing countries of the Middle East.During this same period(1930s),he bought 10 merchant vessels from a Canadian company for 120,000 american dollars.At the same time,he registers all his ships in Panama(not in Greece),where the tarrifs and taxes are much lower than those of Argentina.In 1938,he builds his own oil carrier at the shipyards of Sweden,the “Ariston”,with a volume capacity of 15,000 tons (p.2.