Alexander Onassis
Alexander Onassis | |
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Born | New York City, U.S. | April 30, 1948
Died | January 23, 1973 Athens, Kingdom of Greece | (aged 24)
Cause of death | Injuries sustained in a plane crash |
Resting place | Skorpios, Ionian Islands, Greece |
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Alexander Socrates Onassis (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Σωκράτης Ωνάσης; April 30, 1948 – January 23, 1973) was an American-born Greek businessman. He was the son of the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis and his first wife Tina Livanos. He and his sister Christina Onassis were upset by his father's marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy, and he was credited with attempting to improve the relationship between his father and Stavros Niarchos.
Born in New York City, Onassis was not formally educated and worked for several years for his father at his headquarters in Monaco. The relationship between Onassis and his father experienced tensions as a result of his secret relationship with British model Fiona Campbell-Walter, former wife of Hans Heinrich, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon. He was later appointed the head of
Early life
Alexander Socrates Onassis was born at the
Alexander had no formal schooling, but had been provided with a personal tutor and his own apartment from a young age. Alexander failed his exams at a Paris
Family tensions
In October 1968, Aristotle Onassis married
Relationships
Aristotle’s second marriage exacerbated the tensions already inherent in his relationship with his son. He also disapproved of Alexander's secret relationship with
Following the dinner party, Alexander and Thyssen went to a disco where she punched a fellow dancer in the face (who then fell to the floor) after he suggested that she was only with Alexander because of his father's wealth.[10] Alexander wanted to have a committed relationship with Thyssen from their first meeting, which she initially resisted, but the deep relationship which eventually developed between the pair was resisted by Alexander's mother, who constantly sought to sabotage it. Alexander's father also sought to undermine his son's relationship by buying him a $2 million villa outside Athens, a gesture that Thyssen felt was an attempt to mold her into just another "Alexander object ... to be manipulated, brutalised and treated on any level and on any terms he chooses." Thyssen only accepted gifts from Alexander if they were paid from the amount that he earned from working.[11]
Death
Alexander had taken his first flying lesson in 1967 and had accrued 1,500 flying hours by the time of his death.
Alexander died on January 23, 1973, at the age of 24, from injuries sustained the previous day when his personal
The day after the crash, Alexander's father and stepmother arrived from New York at the hospital where Alexander was being treated. The couple were accompanied by an American neurosurgeon.[16] Alexander's mother arrived from Switzerland with her husband, Stavros Niarchos.[19] Aristotle had also flown the English neurosurgeon Alan Richardson from London to Athens, but Richardson later told Onassis that Alexander had no chance of surviving his injuries.[16] Aristotle Onassis considered having his son's body cryogenically frozen with the Life Extension Society,[20] but was persuaded against it, and he was embalmed by Desmond Henley.[21] Alexander Onassis was buried next to the chapel on his father's private Ionian island of Skorpios.[22]
Reports into the crash by the Greek Air Force and an independent investigator hired by Onassis, the Englishman Alan Hunter, concluded that it had occurred as a result of the reversing of the aileron connecting cables during the installation of a new control column. This conclusion was disputed by McGregor who believed that the wake turbulence from an Air France Boeing 727 that had taken off before them had caused the crash.[23]
Less than a month after Alexander's death, McCusker had manslaughter proceedings initiated against him by the public prosecutor of Athens in connection with the crash.[24] Six people were also charged over Onassis's death in January 1974, with their indictment indicating that faulty controls had been fitted to his plane.[25]
In December 1974, in a paid advertisement, Aristotle Onassis announced his offering of a
Alexander's death had a profound effect on his father, who never fully recovered from the loss of his son. Aristotle Onassis sought to sell Olympic Airways after his son's death, and died two years later in March 1975. Onassis was buried alongside his son on Skorpios.[12]
Alexander S. Onassis Foundation
Aristotle Onassis's will established a charitable foundation in memory of his son, the
Notes
- ^ Destiny Prevails: My life with Aristotle, Alexander, Christina Onassis and her daughter, Athina, Paul J. Ioannidis, Livani Publishing, 2013.
- ^ Evans 1987, p. 107.
- ^ Evans 1987, p. 37.
- ^ Evans 1987, p. 108.
- ^ a b Evans 1987, p. 240.
- ^ a b Evans 1987, p. 226.
- ^ Evans 1987, p. 228.
- ^ Heyman 2008, p. 168
- ^ Evans 1987, p. 258.
- ^ Evans 1987, p. 241.
- ^ Evans 1987, p. 242.
- ^ a b c "Mr Aristotle Onassis", The Times, March 17, 1975, p. 14.
- ^ Destiny Prevails: My life with Aristotle, Alexander, Christina Onassis and her daughter, Athina, Paul J. Ioannidis, Livani Publishing, 2013
- ^ Nikolouli, Sotiria (October 9, 2014). "Olympic Air: From Onassis Golden Age to Aegean Takeover". Greek Reporter. Greece. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ Evans 1987, p. 244.
- ^ a b c Evans 1987, p. 270.
- ^ "Mr Alexander Onassis", The Times, 24 January 1973, p. 18.
- ^ a b Evans 1987, p. 271.
- ^ a b Mario Modiano. "Onassis son dies from air crash injuries.", The Times, London, January 24, 1973, p. 10.
- ^ Wright 2000, p. 178.
- ^ "In Memoriam: Desmond C. Henley". Christopher Henley Limited. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
- ^ Evans 1987, p. 273.
- ^ a b Evans 1987, p. 276.
- ^ "News in Brief", The Times, February 13, 1973, p. 6.
- ^ "News in Brief.", The Times, January 19, 1974, p. 6.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Onassis reward for proof on son's fatal crash", The Times, December 24, 1974, p. 1.
- ^ Michael Knipe. "The legacy of Onassis", The Times, December 18, 2001, p. 11.
References
- Evans, Peter (1987). Ari: The Life, Times and Women of Aristotle Onassis. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-009961-4.
- Heyman, C. David (2008). American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7434-9739-8.
- Wright, William (2000). All the Pain Money Can Buy: The Life of Christina Onassis. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-1163-5.
- Sources
- Ioannidis, Paul (2015). Destiny Prevails: My Life with Aristotle, Alexander, Christina Onassis and her daughter, Athina. New York: Significance Press-paperback or kindle edition. ISBN 978-0990757474.