With a selfless disposition to contribute to the country and the common good, he stood out not only for his shrewdness and foresight in business, but above all for his deep love for his country and his fellow man.

Vardis Vardinogiannis, workers, society and the homeland

It may seem "out of place", after all we are talking about a tycoon with international visibility and global activities. However, in reality, Vardis Vardinogiannis, with more than fifty years in the business arena, always had his door open for his employees, for society, for the homeland.

Vardis Vardinogiannis: Honorary Distinction for his contribution to business and philanthropy

"Our country needs everyone. One needs the other. You should not ignore your neighbor who has no bread to eat..." he said in 2017, urging a national patriotic mobilization of all the creative forces of the country, so that the country can turn page once and for all. His wish "that Greece be built as it should be".

A democrat with all his being, a good man, a philanthropist, an excellent family man, a patriot, a person with empathy, before the word became fashionable. This was the epitome of his character for those who knew him.

The change of surname, poverty and the navy

Originating from Sfakia in Crete, the ancestors of the Vardinogiannis family were called Vardinakides.

One of them, Giannis Vardinakis, led the rebellion of the Sfakians against the Turks (1877-1878) and was known as Vardinogiannis, thus giving a new surname to his family.

At the turn of the century the family from Sfakia found themselves in the Episcopate of Lappaia Rethymno. It was a difficult time with a lot of poverty.

Vardis Vardinogiannis was born on December 4, 1933 in the Diocese of Rethymno, one of the ten children of Giannis Vardinogiannis, a merchant by profession, and Chrysis Theodoroulakis.

The young Vardis decides to enter the Naval Cadet School, following the course of his brother Nikos.

A graduate of the Naval Cadet School, Class of 1955, he was compulsorily discharged in July 1967, then a captain, for his opposition to the dictatorship. Then the junta exiled him to Amorgos.

He was initiated into the "Navy Movement" in 1973, thus helping to ensure the supply of ships in the event of a coup, from his company and that of his brother Nikos, who was also an officer in the Navy (Royal Navy at the time), a graduate of the Naval Cadet School Class of 1952.

Nikos had resigned early from the Navy, as an ensign, since then dealing with the businesses he created.

In the post-juntaperiod, the government of Constantinos Karamanlis retroactively awarded Vardis Vardinogiannis the rank of vice admiral.

His marriage to Marianna

For over 60 years, Vardis had by his side the woman of his life, Marianna Vardinogianni, a correspondingly great personality, of international scope.

His beloved wife breathed her last at the age of 80 about a year and a half ago, after health problems that plagued her.

They probably met by chance at a friend's house when Marianna was still a student. It was love at first sight.

Marianna Vardinogianni: "A Greek woman with her eyes on the world"

They got married on May 18, 1961, with Christos Lambrakis as best man, whom Vardis met when they did their military service.

During the first years of their marriage, they lived in an apartment on Pipinou Street in Kypseli, near Patision.

When Vardis was exiled to Amorgos by the Junta, the couple had already had three of their five children, with the third newborn in the cradle

Marianna worked at the American embassy, ​​since the salary of captain, at that time, Vardi, was only 2,500 drachmas a month. For extra money, she also worked at the radio station as a news announcer at the American Base in Elliniko, where she also met Melina Merkouris, who later became her friend.

As Marianna Vardinogianni had said: "My parents gave me the basic principles, but my husband essentially shaped my character."

Vardis Vardinogiannis during the years of exile

When Vardis was exiled to Amorgos by the Aprilians, the couple had already acquired three of the five their two children (Yiannis, Christiana, George, Nikos and Vardianna), with the third newborn in the cradle.

Marianna, founder and president of the "Foundation for the Child and the Family", which was renamed the "Marianna B. Vardinogiannis", and of the Association of Friends of Children with Cancer "ELPIDA", took a boat in the dead of winter with their older children and went to find her husband.

"We live in a house without electricity, but we are overwhelmed by the love and support of the residents of Amorgos. I will never forget them... Every day I found at our window sometimes a bottle of milk, sometimes two eggs, warm bread... Their love was a balm to our souls", said Marianna Vardinogianni in an interview, describing those difficult years.

Empire building

From shipping to media and from energy and RES to investment banking and tourism, the patriarch of Greek business leaves behind a financial empire.

He started dealing with business in the early 70s, being retired, next to his brother Nikos.

With Motor Oil as its flagship, Vardis Vardinogiannis' businesses include a wide range of activities from the oil, shipbuilding, banking and hotel sectors, as well as mass media

As early as the 1960s, Nikos Vardinogiannis had created the ship supply station at Kaloι Limenes in Crete and the Motor Oil refinery at Agioi Theodorou, in Corinth.

The sudden death of Nikos Vardinogiannis, in 1973, put Vardis at the helm of the business, who for half a century worked tirelessly, building one of the largest Greek business groups.

With Motor Oil as its flagship, Vardis Vardinogiannis' businesses include a wide range of activities from the oil, shipbuilding, banking and hotel sectors, as well as the mass media: Optima bank, Vegas Oil and Gas (Egypt), AvinOil, Piraeus Bank, ANEK Lines, Star Channel, Alpha TV, NJV Athens Plaza, AVE Group of Companies, Odeon, etc.

In these 50 years, a lot has changed for businesses and the family, which is considered one of the 50 strongest in Europe.

Rich investment presence

What hasn't changed are the values. He never left Greece, not even in the days of crisis. He expanded the group’s activities, while he recently presented an investment plan of 4 billion by 2030 with a focus on Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and the circular economy.

1/3 of the amount was already invested with the acquisition of the majority package of Ellactor's RES sector by MORE, the group's subsidiary that carries the burden of investments outside of refineries.

By 2030, another 1.5 billion will be invested for the maintenance and upgrading of the refineries with a focus on the new petrochemical unit for which 160 million are invested. This will operate in 2026 as well as the large investment, over 300 million. euros, in pure hydrogen (mainly in the Blue Med project).

The "manifesto"

July 4, 2001. The world was still reeling from the violent bursting of the stock market bubble of 1999.

On that day, in the presence of institutional investors and representatives of the business and political world, Vardis Vardinogiannis and representatives of the Saudi Arabian group Aramco, which at the time owned 50% of Motor Oil, presented the company and its development prospects in view of its listing on the Stock Exchange .

Among others, after the presentation Vardis Vardinogiannis made a promise to the investment community:

"There's one thing I want you to know. Motor Oil will always be close to the shareholders and will never fail to give them dividends. Those who stay with us will understand better."

This "manifesto" has never lost its value, just as the company's shareholders have never lost a year of dividend returns.

For years, Vardis Vardinogiannis and his family had a permanent presence on the Forbes list. In 2023, with a fortune of 1.9 billion dollars ranked 1,575th (from 2,076th in 2022).

Television channels

In addition to his involvement in business, Vardis Vardinogiannis had developed into a highly regarded "player" in the field of television as well.

Always with a positive "imprint", Vardis Vardinogiannis, through Mega and Star until the acquisition of Alpha, has had access to the country's television receivers for three decades.

The first contact with the small screen began in 1989, when together with Giorgos Bobolas, Christos Lambrakis, Kitsos Tegopoulos and Aristidis Alafouzos founded Mega, the first pan-Hellenic television station that broadcast in Greece.

Also known as "the publisher's channel", as the Vardinogianni group published the newspaper at the time, "Mesimbrini" and the others "Ethnos" (Bobolas), "Vima" and "Nea" (Lambrakis), "Eleftherotypia" (Tegopoulos) and "Kathimerini" (Alaofuzos). Eventually the 5 became 3, but the family continued to support the channel for over 25 years.

However, it didn't just stop at Mega. A few years later he took control of the company, "New Television SA" and in 1993 it took Star off the air, simultaneously acquiring the network of (then) Channel 29 frequencies and broadcasting until 2008 from its facilities in Tavros.