13 Facts About Stavros Niarchos

Stavros Niarchos was born in Athens to a wealthy family, the son of Spyros Stavros Niarchos and his wife, Eugenie Koumantaros, a rich heiress, both born in the village of Vamvakou in the Peloponnese.

Stavros Niarchos's parents were naturalized Americans who had owned a department store in Buffalo, New York, before returning to Greece, three months prior to his birth.

Stavros Niarchos studied law at the University of Athens, after which he went to work for his maternal uncles in the Koumantaros family's grain business.

Stavros Niarchos was a naval officer in World War II, during which time part of the trade fleet he had developed with his uncle was destroyed.

Stavros Niarchos used about two million dollars in insurance settlement to build a new fleet.

Stavros Niarchos was said to be linked to Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy.

Stavros Niarchos is buried in the family tomb in the Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery in Lausanne.

Stavros Niarchos's fortune was estimated to be worth $12 billion at the time of his death.

Stavros Niarchos notably excluded from his will Elena Ford, his daughter by his ex-wife, heiress and socialite Charlotte M Ford.

Stavros Niarchos began investing in thoroughbred horse racing in the early 1950s and won his first stakes race with Pipe of Peace at the Middle Park Stakes.

Stavros Niarchos acquired the Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard horse breeding farm in Neuvy-au-Houlme, France and Oak Tree Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, where, in 1984, he bred his most successful horse, Miesque.

Stavros Niarchos was the leading owner in France twice and topped the breeders' list there three times.

Stavros Niarchos's prize horses were all trained by Francois Boutin, whose skill was a vital element of Niarchos' success in the field.