Mavroleon family

The Mavroleon family is a Greek family of shipping magnates with strong United Kingdom connections. They also own a large amount of land in Greece. At the height of their wealth their fortune amounted to around £2 billion, and their fleet comprised 32 ships.^{[citation needed]}

Basil Mavroleon (1909–1991), descended from a long-established shipping family in Greece, moved to England as a member of the merchant shipping business based in the UK and run by his cousins, the Kulukundis family.^[1] He later set up the shipping company London and Overseas Freighters (LOF).^[2][3] Along with the Kulukundis, he set up the Greek merchant navy.^{[clarification needed]}

He married an English wife, Violet Withers, by whom he had a son, Manuel Basil Mavroleon, generally known by his nickname "Bluey" (1932–2009), who was educated in England and served in the Grenadier Guards. Bluey on to run the firm but moved to Switzerland when the 1974–1979 Labour Government nationalised Austin and Pickersgill shipbuilders in which LOF was the largest shareholder. Bluey was particularly known for his generosity and parties. He was married four times and left four children and six grandchildren.^[3]

His son Nicholas Mavroleon was married to American actress Barbara Carrera.^[4] Another son Carlos Mavroleon (1958–1998) was educated at Eton and Harvard, and while he was in the US had an affair with Mary Richardson, later the wife of Bobby Kennedy Jr. He later became a member of the Mujahideen, with whom he fought against the Red Army in Afghanistan. A professional journalist but also a drug addict, he died a mysterious death in Peshawar while on assignment for CBS reporting on Operation Infinite Reach.^[5]

See also

• Eddie Kulukundis

References

1. ^ "The Mavroleon and Kulukundis fleet". MerchantNavyOfficers.com. http://www.merchantnavyofficers.com/lof1.html. Retrieved 28 June 2010. 
2. ^ "Kulukundis and Mavroleon families". LOF News. http://www.lof-news.co.uk/Kulukundis.htm. Retrieved 28 June 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Bluey Mavroleon". The Daily Telegraph. 17 March 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/5007598/Bluey-Mavroleon.html. Retrieved 28 June 2010. 
4. ^ "Bluey Mavroleon". The Telegraph. March 17, 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/5007598/Bluey-Mavroleon.html. Retrieved 2011-04-02. 
5. ^ Burke, Jason (20 August 2000). "Carlos Kulukundis". The Observer. http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2000/aug/20/features.magazine47. Retrieved 28 June 2010. 

Further reading

• Sedgwick, Stanley. MArk, Kinnaird; K, O'Donoghue. eds. London & Overseas Freighters, 1948-92: A Short History (2nd ed.). World Ship Society. ISBN 0905617681. 

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