Greece - Onassis and how the rich live(d) - incredibly interesting

"Greece is a poor country full of rich people". I will never forget that was the first statement someone made to me when I discovered I was relocating to this country. During my years here I became fascinated with the life of the Onassis family. Aristotle Onassis - as you probably know - was a billionaire Greek shipping tycoon, whose claim to fame I suppose was that he married Jackie Kennedy, widow of assassinated US President, J. F. Kennedy. In a nutshell the arranged marriage was motivated by Onassis' claim for social status and Jackie's love of money.

A couple of years ago I went on a yachting trip from Corfu down the Ionian Coast to Lefkada. It was during this trip that I discovered my fascination with the Onassis family. On the way I came across the Onassis private island which stands in all its incredible botanical beauty (Onassis had trees and shrubs brought from all over the world) where the family would spent summer vacations. There is something errie about this deserted paradise today. In the 70's when the family were in residence there were some 300 staff in attendance - even today deserted some 30 are constantly employed in upkeeping the houses and gardens. Taking a step forward Onassis two children, Alexandros and Christina Onassis, both died tragically. The sole inheritor of the entire Onassis fortune - including the island - is the only daughter of Christina Onassis, Athena. Now in her twenties she inherited her first $10 of the estate at the age of 18! She never visits the island and is adverse to anything Greek. To be continued .....