Miltiadis Marinakis was born in
Heraklion on the
Greek island of
Crete and was the son of local businessman Apostolos Marinakis. He grew up in a wealthy family, who owned one of the best-known
foundries on the island, which made
bells for
Cretan churches. Today the bells still decorate the church of St. Minas in Heraklion and other churches in
Sitia,
Rethymno and
Chania. Due to its renown, the company had exports to Italy, France, and the Dalmatian Coast (mainly Trieste). During the
German occupation of
WWII the family fortune was confiscated. Miltiadis Marinakis became part of the
EAM and
EPON resistance movement. After the war he studied in the Commercial Navy School and worked for some time at his brother's machining center. In the beginning of the 1960s he settled in
Piraeus and worked in ship repairs. In 1970 he founded the company "Vanimar" and bought his first ship. He was always active in shipping, increasing his fleet. Miltiadis Marinakis later became involved in politics. He was elected local councilor (1978 and 1982) for Piraeus. He was elected a member of the
Greek Parliament with the
New Democracy party in 1985 and in 1989. Marinakis was also involved in sports. In his youth he played football with his brother for the
Ergotelis football team in Crete. Later on he became a shareholder of
Olympiacos F.C.He was curator at the polo team division and in 1979, together with ten other shipowners, he became part of the Olympiacos management, as he was general commander of the football department. Subsequently, he was the only one, together with Loucas Hajioannou, who did not sell his share to
George Koskotas. He was a talent scout for the team, as he discovered
Nikos Vamvakoulas and presented him to the team as a gift, while he selected
Nikos Sarganis as the team's first goalkeeper. He was married to Eirini Marinaki (née Karakatsani) and had a son,
Evangelos Marinakis. == References ==