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The Onassis Global Shipping Business, 1920s–1950s

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2014

Gelina Harlaftis
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Abstract

Aristotle Onassis was a leading figure in creating the new global tanker business in the second half of the twentieth century. This article examines the first thirty years of his career, before he became renowned worldwide, setting his business in the context of global shipping developments. Onassis is the most famous of the shipping tycoons that transformed maritime business in the post–World War II transitional period. He is among those “new men”—Greek, Norwegian, Danish, American, Japanese, or Hong Kong shipowners—who replaced the old order of the traditional British Empire shipowners. These new pioneers established the global shipping business in the era of American dominance.

Type
Research Article
Information
Business History Review , Volume 88 , Issue 2 , Summer 2014 , pp. 241 - 271
Copyright
Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 2014 

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References

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21 Damilakou and Harlaftis, “The Beginning of an ‘Empire.’”

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28 Onassis, “Our Postwar Shipping.”

29 About Greek London offices, see Harlaftis, A History of Greek-Owned Shipping, 202–24.

30 Ibid.

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32 Lloyd's Register of Shipping, 1933. Foustanos claims that he found the evidence on the price of the first two ships in the Archives of Greek Registers of Shipping of Piraeus; see Foustanos, George M., Onassis: Pioneering in Shipping (Piraeus, 2006)Google Scholar, 27.

33 Onassis, “Our Postwar Shipping.”

34 Harlaftis, A History of Greek-Owned Shipping, 202–24. According to the economist Casson, Mark, “an entrepreneur is someone who specializes in taking judgmental decisions about the coordination of scarce resources,” Casson, Mark, The Entrepreneur: An Economic Theory (Cheltenham, 2008)Google Scholar, 43. For entrepreneurship in Greek shipping companies, see Theotokas, Ioannis, “On the Top of World Shipping: Greek Shipping Companies' Organization and Management,” Research in Transportation Economics 21 (2007): 63–93CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

35 Sturmey, British Shipping and World Competition, 61–97. See also Tenold, Stig, “Crisis? What Crisis? The Expansion of Norwegian Shipping in the Interwar Period,” in Crisis and Transition: Maritime Sectors in the North Sea Region, 1790–1940, ed. Scholl, Lars U. and Williams, David M. (Bremerhaven, 2005)Google Scholar.

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37 Jacobsen, Eventyret Anders Jahre, 60.

38 In 1934, while traveling from Buenos Aires to Europe he met Ingeborg Dedichen, the daughter of the Norwegian shipowner Ingeval Martin Byde. Their affair lasted for almost a decade, and Ingeborg brought him into further contact with Scandinavian shipping circles. Dedichen, Ingeborg, Onassis Mon Amour (Paris, 1975)Google Scholar. Onassis, “Our Postwar Shipping.”

39 The Koutsis brothers from Spetses bought the first Greek tanker in the 1890s. They were not successful with the vessel, however, and no other Greek shipowner followed their lead until Onassis. See Harlaftis, Beneki, and Haritatos, Ploto.

40 Jacobsen, Eventyret Anders Jahre, 191.

41 Vlassopoulos, Pages of a Life, 82–83.

42 Thowsen, Atle, Handelsflåten i krig, 1939–1945: Nortraship. Profit tog patriotism, vol. 1 (Oslo, 1992)Google Scholar, 97.

43 Foustanos, Onassis, 40–42.

44 Casson, “Entrepreneurship and the Theory of the Firm.”

45 Harlaftis, Gelina and Theotokas, John, “Maritime Business during the Twentieth Century: Continuity and Change,” in Handbook of Maritime Economics and Business, ed. Grammenos, C. Th. (London, 2002), 9–34Google Scholar.

46 Vlassopoulos, Pages of a Life.

47 Thowsen, Handelsflåten i krig, 97. See also “Norwegian Merchant Fleet, 1939–1945,” http://warsailors.com/singleships/aristophanes.html. See also Jacobsen, Eventyret Anders Jahre, 183.

48 Thowsen, Handelsflåten i krig, 180. Thowsen based this information on Foreign Office archives: “Telegram from Sir R. Craigie, Tokyo, to the Foreign Office,” 15.4.1940, FO 371/25180, General Archives, U.K.

49 Onassis, “Our Postwar Shipping.”

50 “Fraud against the Government,” New York office 46-2507 report, 10 May 1952, 50, “Aristotle Onassis,” part 2, Bufile 46-17783, FBI.

51 See Onassis, “Our Postwar Shipping.”

52 Document 100-125834-5, 14 Sept. 1942, “Aristotle Onassis,” Bufile 100-125834, FBI.

53 Document 100-125834-1, 18 July 1942, “Aristotle Onassis,” Bufile 100-125834, FBI.

54 Theoharis, Athan G. and Cox, John Stuart, The Boss: J. Edgar Hoover and the Great American Inquisition (New York, 1988), 49–53Google Scholar.

55 Document 100-125834-1, 18 July 1942, “Aristotle Onassis,” Bufile 100-125834, FBI. See also Harlaftis, Gelina, “Aristotle Onassis and FBI Archives in the 1940s,” Entreprises et Histoire 2 (2011): 80–85Google Scholar.

56 Espionage on “Aristotle Onassis,” Los Angeles Bureau, 22 Mar. 1944, “Aristotle Onassis,” Bufile 100-125834, FBI.

57 Onassis, “Our Postwar Shipping.” See also Naftika Chronika, 15 Mar. 1946, 1 Oct. 1947.

58 Achee-Thornton, Rebecca and Thomson, Peter, “Learning from Experience and Learning from Others: An Exploration of Learning and Spillovers in Wartime Shipbuilding,” American Economic Review 91, no. 5 (Dec. 2001): 1350–68Google Scholar.

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61 Ibid.

62 More on the review in Hutchins, John G. B., “United Merchant Marine Policy and Surplus Ships,” Journal of Political Economy 59, no. 2 (Apr. 1951): 117–25Google Scholar. Marx, Daniel Jr., “The Merchant Ship Sales Act,” Journal of Business of the University of Chicago 21, no. 1 (Jan. 1948): 12–28CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Petersen, Kaare, The Saga of Norwegian Shipping (Oslo, 1955)Google Scholar, 190.

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65 “Under Two Flags: Foreign Registry of American Merchantmen,” Stanford Law Review 5, no. 4 (July 1953): 797–813Google Scholar.

66 Costas Gratsos helped Onassis to write this memorandum, and the term “Onassiad” is attributed to him. See Fraser et al., Aristotle Onassis.

67 Onassis, “Our Postwar Shipping.”

68 “Asset play” means buying ships at low prices and selling them at high prices. For asset playing, see Stopford, Maritime Economics, 95–104. Naess, Autobiography, 113.

69 Evidence from Director of FBI to Assistant Attorney General James M. McInerney (9 Jan. 1952) and from Allen J. Krouse to Fred E. Strine, Administrative Regulations Section, “U.S. Petroleum Carriers, Inc.” (31 Oct. 1951), “Aristotle Onassis,” part 2, Bufile 46-17783, FBI.

70 Fraser et al., Aristotle Onassis.

71 “Fraud against the Government,” “Aristotle Onassis,” part 2, FBI. For details of the stock-holders of his companies see also Harlaftis, “Mr. Onassis and Game Theory,” Appendix 2.

72 Harlaftis, “Mr. Onassis and Game Theory,” see Appendix 1.

73 Stopford, Maritime Economics, 197.

74 United States House of Representatives, Study of Trade-Out and Build Activities of Onassis Companies: Hearings before the Special Subcommittee of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, 85th Congress, 2nd sess., vol. 53 (Washington, D.C., 1958)Google Scholar. Vlassopoulos, Pages of a Life, 86–88.

75 Onassis, “Our Postwar Shipping.”

76 See, for example, the interview of Berenson who reveals details of how he and Onassis approached the oil companies and the banks. “Fraud against the Government,” 174–80, “Aristotle Onassis,” part 2, FBI.

77 Allen J. Krouse, Special Assistant to the Attorney General, to Fred E. Strine, Administrative Regulations Section, “U.S. Petroleum Carriers, Inc.” (31 Oct. 1951), “Aristotle Onassis,” part 2, Bufile 46-17783, FBI.

78 van B. Cleveland, Harold and Huertas, Thomas F., Citibank, 1812–1970 (Cambridge, Mass., 1985)Google Scholar, 231.

79 Stopford, Maritime Economics, 304–5. See also Sturmey, British Shipping and World Competition, 61–97.

80 See Vlassopoulos, Pages of a Life, 86–88. For Ludwig see Shields, Jerry, The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig (New York, 1986)Google Scholar. Ludwig was in the top-ten list of American millionaires. See “List of 76 Said to Hold above 75 Millions,” New York Times, 28 Oct. 1957; on the building of Ludwig's tankers, see Arthur Richter, “Largest Tanker to be Launched,” New York Times, 5 Dec. 1958; for Erling Dekke Naess, see Naess, Autobiography; for Stavros Niarchos, see Carlisle, Rodney, Sovereignty for Sale: The Origins and Evolution of the Panamanian and Liberian Flags of Convenience (Maryland, 1981)Google Scholar.

81 Thowsen, Atle, Skipsfart og planøkonomi (Bergen, 1986)Google Scholar, 35.

82 See repeated reports of American shipyards building tankers, “New Tanker Sails on Maiden Voyage,” New York Times, 21 Nov. 1948; “New Supertanker Set for Launching,” New York Times, 23 Feb. 1950; “Last Supertanker In Group Launched,” New York Times, 25 Feb. 1950.

83 Jacobsen, Eventyret Anders Jahre, 191.

84 “Shipbuilding Deal on German Ways: Greek-American Capital Said to be Backing Purchase of Half-Interest in Kiel Yard,” New York Times, 22 June 1952.

85 Vlassopoulos, Pages of a Life, 86–87.

86 For a recent analysis on maritime business culture, see Miller, Europe and the Maritime World, 176–210.

87 Theotokas, “On the Top of World Shipping.” Casson, Mark, Economics of Business Culture: Game Theory, Transaction Costs, and Economic Performance (Oxford, 1991)Google Scholar.

88 Hoy, Frank and Verser, Trudy G., “Emerging Business, Emerging Field: Entrepreneurship and the Family Firm,” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 19 (Fall 1994): 9–23Google Scholar.

89 Papinianos, Ο δικηγόρος [The Lawyer] (Athens, 2003), 27–34Google Scholar. These are the memoirs of Tryphon Koutalidis, a Greek lawyer known under the pseudonym “Papinianos,” mainly in relation to Aristotle Onassis and Olympic Airways.

90 Onassis, “Our Postwar Shipping.”

91 Theotokas and Harlaftis, Leadership in World Shipping, 191.

92 Nicolas Cokkinis, related to the large Greek traditional Embiricos family, had become a friend of Onassis in 1945. “Fraud against the Government,” “Aristotle Onassis,” part 2, FBI.

93 Paizis-Danias, Dimitris, Θαλάσσης Μνήμες [Memories of the Sea] (Athens, 2008)Google Scholar, 99.

94 “Fraud against the Government,” “Aristotle Onassis,” part 2, FBI.

95 For the development of institutions in shipping, see Boyce, Gordon, “The Development of Commercial Infrastructure for World Shipping,” in “World's Key Industry”: History and Economics of International Shipping, ed. Harlaftis, Gelina, Tenold, Stig, and Valdaliso, Jesús M. (London, 2012), 106–23Google Scholar.

96 An important element of successful entrepreneurship is innovation, not only in technology but also in management. See also Hébert, Robert F. and Link, Albert N., “In Search of the Meaning of Entrepreneurship,” Small Business Economics 1 (1989): 39–49Google Scholar.

97 Jones, Geoffrey, “Business Enterprises and Global Worlds,” Enterprise and Society 3 (Dec. 2002): 581–605Google Scholar.

98 Harlaftis and Theotokas, “Maritime Business during the Twentieth Century.”

99 For the analysis of the organizational model of Greek-owned shipping, see Theotokas and Harlaftis, Leadership, ch. 2. “Flagging out” from traditional registers to flags of convenience was a major feature of interwar and particularly postwar international shipping. The flags of convenience of Panama, Honduras, and Liberia—known as the PanHoLib fleet—were cheap flags with low taxes where lax employment and operating conditions provided cheap sea transport for large American corporations like United Fruit or the oil companies. See Cafruny, Alan, Ruling the Waves: The Political Economy of International Shipping (Berkeley, 1987)Google Scholar. For a classic on flags of convenience, see Metaxas, Basil N., Flags of Convenience (London, 1985)Google Scholar. For the use of flags of convenience by American shipowners, see de la Pedraja, René, Rise and Decline of U.S. Merchant Shipping in the Twentieth Century (New York, 1992)Google Scholar.

100 Department of Justice, Memorandum for Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, Director FBI by Warren Burger, Assistant Attorney General, 4 Feb. 1953, “Aristotle Onassis,” part 1, Bufile 1100-125834, FBI.

101 “Fraud against the Government,” “Aristotle Onassis,” part 2, FBI.

102 Donovan, Robert J., Conflict and Crisis: The Presidency of Harry Truman, 1945–1948 (Columbia, Mo., 1996)Google Scholar.

103 Ibid.

104 Office Memorandum from Warren Olney III, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division to the Director of FBI, subject “United States v. Onassis et al.,” 28 Dec. 1955, “Aristotle Onassis,” part 3, Bufile 46-17783, FBI.

105 Office Memorandum from C. A. Evans to Rosen, “North American Shipping and Trading, Inc., et al., Fraud against the Government,” 2 Feb. 1954, “Aristotle Onassis,” part 3, Bufile 46-17783, FBI.

106 United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Holding a Criminal Term, Grand Jury Impaneled on 2 Sept. 1952, “The Grand Jury Charges,” “Aristotle Onassis,” part 3, Bufile 46-17783, FBI.

107 Warren Olney III, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, to Director, FBI, “Victory Carriers Inc. et al.,” 1 Mar. 1954, “Aristotle Onassis,” part 3, Bufile 46-17783, FBI.

108 Edith Evans Asbury, “Once Penniless Man Here Buys Control of Monte Carlo Casinos,” New York Times, 16 Jan. 1953.

109 Hamilton, Maxwell, “The Man who Bought the Bank at Monte Carlo,” True: The Man's Magazine (Dec. 1954): 17–20Google Scholar, 83–86.

110 Office Memorandum from A. H. Belmont to L. V. Boardman, “Visit to Middle East and North Africa by Bureau's Army Liaison Representative,” 16 June 1954, “Aristotle Onassis,” part 4, Bufile 46-17783, FBI.

111 Allen J. Krouse to Fred E. Strine, Administrative Regulations Section, “U.S. Petroleum Carriers, Inc.,” 31 Oct. 1951, “Aristotle Onassis,” part 2, Bufile 46-17783, FBI.

112 Interviews with bankers are blackened on pages 72–74, 78, 89, 93–96, 107–11, and 163–65; with the Metropolitan Life Insurance company executives on pages 60–61 and 163–65; and with oil company executives on pages 98–101. “Fraud against the Government,” “Aristotle Onassis,” part 2, FBI.

113 “Visit to Middle East and North Africa by Bureau's Army Liaison Representative,” “Aristotle Onassis,” part 4, FBI. For taking the case to arbitration, see “Aramco Hearing Opens,” New York Times, 16 June 1955. The court at The Hague finally passed an agreement in 1958 in favor of Aramco.

114 “Peru Frees 8 U.S. Ships,” New York Times, 22 Feb. 1955; “Onassis Pays $3,000,000 Fine,” New York Times, 14 Dec. 1954; “Onassis Fine Being Paid,” New York Times, 13 Dec. 1954. On the Onassis whaling fleet, see Barthelmess, Klaus, “A Century of German Interests in Modern Whaling, 1860s–1960s,” in Whaling and History: Perspectives on the Evolution of the Industry, ed. Basberg, Bjorn L., Ringstad, Jan Erik, and Wexelsen, Einar (Sanderfjord, 1993), 121–38Google Scholar. Fraser et al., Aristotle Onassis, 163.

115 Fraser et al., Aristotle Onassis, 194. For the boycott of Onassis's ships from Aramco, see “Biggest Tanker Idle in Hamburg,” New York Times, 23 Feb. 1955; “Onassis in Cairo for Oil Case Talk,” New York Times, 20 Jan. 1955.

116 Fraser et al., Aristotle Onassis, 194.

117 Manuel Kulukundis and his brothers were indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud on December 22, 1953. Charges against Manuel Kulukundis were dismissed in January 1954 and against the rest of the Kulukundis brothers more than a year later. See “Ship Sales Fraud Charged to Five,” New York Times, 23 Dec. 1953; “Greek Shipowners Indicted for Fraud in Ship Purchases,” Washington Post, 5 Jan. 1954; “Court Winds Up Ship Sale Case,” New York Times, 29 Nov. 1955.

118 The report by the New York Times is accurate when compared with the original agreement in FBΙ files. Luther A. Huston, “Ship Owner Pays 7 Million Penalty,” New York Times, 22 Dec. 1955.

119 Something he never did, causing another notorious encounter with the American government instigated by Democratic United States Representative Herbert Zelenko, who proposed and carried out a Congressional investigation in 1957–1958 both on the agreement between the Maritime Administration and Onassis and on the cancellation of the construction of new ships due to Onassis's allegation of depressed markets. All the proceedings of the hearings are in U.S. House of Representatives, Study of Trade-Out and Build Activities of Onassis Companies.

120 Fraser et al., Aristotle Onassis, 142.

121 Memorandum for Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, “Aristotle Onassis,” part 1, FBI.

122 Shields, The Invisible Billionaire; Dero A. Saunders, “The Wide Oceans of D. K. Ludwig,” Fortune, May 1957.

123 Carlisle, Sovereignty for Sale.

124 U.S. House of Representatives, Study of Trade-Out and Build Activities of Onassis Companies, 206.

125 Ibid., 176.

126 Fraser et al., Aristotle Onassis.

127 Onassis, “Our Postwar Shipping.”

128 For Onassis Foundation see http://www.onassis.gr/.

129 Theotokas and Harlaftis, Leadership in World Shipping, 247–50.