Kogarah’s Greek Orthodox church, ‘The Resurrection of our Lord, our Lady of Myrtles, St Elessa,’ is set to upgrade its entrance doors after receiving a $20,000 grant from the New South Wales Government.
The exciting news comes after Member for Oatley, Mark Coure MP, successfully wrote to NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, on behalf of the Kogarah parish and local Greek community.
“Thanks to a NSW Government investment from our Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, the Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of Kogarah has received $20,000 to upgrade the entrance doors to the venue,” Mr Coure wrote on a Facebook post.
Kogarah’s Greek Orthodox church is set to upgrade its front doors.
“This compliments the fantastic facilities at the church and it will further enhance the state of the art precinct as a whole. This is great news for church attendees, Greek Australians and the entire St George community.”
In response, the Kogarah Parish Committee and parish priest, Father Kyriakos, say they are “pleased to have received the grant… towards the much needed replacement of our church front doors.”
“We would like to thank Mark Coure MP for coming to the assistance of the Parish Committee in procuring the funding,” reads a Facebook post.
TV entrepreneur and Number 96 actor, Harry Michaels, couldn’t sell his Point Piper Spanish Mission apartment last June for $3.3 million – now it’s sold for $3.7 million after just one open home.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in the famous circa-1929 Santa Barbara block at 2/7 Longworth Avenue had a $3.5 million price guide, but an investor from Longueville came through on Saturday and fell in love with it, agreeing to pay whatever it took to own it.
The ground-floor apartment in the block of six features harbour views, soaring ornate ceilings and original fixtures and has a French Provincial style kitchen with a full Art Deco bathroom.
The ground-floor apartment has harbour views. Photo: realestate.com.au.
It’s sale is a far cry from the previous campaign, when the apartment sat without interest on the market for eight months between October 2019 and June 2020, initially with a price guide of $3.5 million to $3.7 million.
By last June, the guide, with sales agents Cae Thomas and Jye Emdur of Ray White TRG (The Rubinstein Group), had dropped to $3.3 million and there was still no buyer.
Fortunately for Michaels, his luck changed.
Who is Harry Michaels?
Harry Michaels is of Greek Cypriot descent and he first became famous in the late 1970s as Italian Deli assistant, Giovanni Lenzi, in the iconic TV series Number 96.
Harry Michaels is of Greek Cypriot descent.
He was also the host of Greek Affair and The Greek Variety Show from the 1980s.
More lucrative was his role as a football broadcasting pioneer, buying the TV rights for the National Soccer League in the 1980s.
And Michaels’ production company, Silk Studio, produces Aerobics Oz Style, with his aerobics instructor wife, Effie, often appearing on the show.
The couple reside in a seven-bedroom mansion in Wentworth Road, Vaucluse, purchased for $12.35 million in 2008.
He bought the Santa Barbara apartment, which also has double parking, for $2 million in 2010.
The number of billionaires on Forbes’ 35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented 2,755 this year – 660 more than a year ago.
Of those, a record high 493 were new to the list – roughly one every 17 hours, including 210 from China and Hong Kong.
As for the billionaires with Greek heritage, The Greek Herald has compiled a list of all of them. They are:
1. Maritsa Lazari and Family (Ranked 1,064):
Maritsa Lazari and her family’s net worth is $2.9 billion, according to Forbes.
Maritsa is a Cyprus-born British billionaire businesswoman. She was married to the Cyprus-born British billionaire property developer, Chris Lazari, until his death in 2015. They had three children together.
Maritsa married Cyprus-born British billionaire property developer, Chris Lazari.
Christos eventually created a successful fashion line called Drendie Girl. The couple used the profits from that business to buy up property.
Lazari Investments owns more than 3 million square feet of commercial real estate in London, mostly office space that it rents out.
2. John Catsimatidis (Ranked 1,111):
John Catsimatidis has a net worth of $2.8 billion. In 2020, he ranked 299th in the Forbes 400 list.
Catsimatidis is best known as the owner of New York City supermarket chain Gristedes. He also owns oil refinery United Refining in Pennsylvania, which he bought out of bankruptcy, and real estate in New York and beyond.
John Catsimatidis has a net worth of $2.8 billion.
He moved with his family from Greece to New York when he was an infant and grew up in an apartment in Harlem. He worked as a grocery clerk while attending New York University, but dropped out for a chance to own a piece of the shop where he worked.
He opened his own grocery store in 1969 and had 10 Red Apple stores by age 25.
3. Philip Niarchos (Ranked 1,111):
Philip Niarchos, the oldest son of the late shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos, inherited much of his father’s art collection.
The collection was purchased in 1957 for $3 million from actor Edward G. Robinson and includes some of the world’s most recognisable pieces.
It is said to be the largest private collection of Van Gogh’s work, notably his ear-less self portrait, and includes Picasso’s iconic “Yo, Picasso.”
Philip Niarchos is the oldest son of the late shipping magnate, Stavros Niarchos.
Since inheriting the collection, Philip has added post-war and contemporary works, including pieces by Andy Warhol and Maurizio Cattelan.
He has an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion.
4. Charles Dean Metropoulos (Ranked 1,205):
Charles Dean Metropoulos is an American billionaire investor and businessman of Greek descent. His net worth for this year is $2.6 billion, according to the Forbes list. Metropoulos is best known for saving the iconic Twinkies and Hostess Brands.
Through his Metropoulos & Co, he’s also turned around and sold Chef Boyardee, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Bumble Bee Tuna and others.
Metropoulos and private equity firm Apollo bought Hostess Brands in 2013 and later took it public. Most recently, he’s been selling his shares.
Charles Dean Metropoulos.
The Greek-born entrepreneur is also a trustee of the National Hellenic Museum located in Chicago.
Metropoulos made his first American acquisition at the age of 32, when he acquired a cheese company in his wife’s native Vermont.
Metropoulos, along with private equity titan Alec Gores, took blank check company Gores Metropoulos public in February 2019.
5. Aristotelis Mistakidis (Ranked 1,362):
Aristotelis Mistakidis is a Swiss-based Greek metals trader who became a billionaire working for Glencore. His current net worth is estimated at $2.3 billion.
Mistakidis, known as “Telis,” stepped down from his role as the director of Glencore’s copper business at the end of 2018.
Aristotelis Mistakidis is a Swiss-based Greek metals trader.
In 2018, Canadian regulators fined and banned Mistakidis from serving as a director due to compliance violations.
Mistakidis got his start in commodities at Cargill and joined Marc Rich & Co. in 1993. Later, the firm was bought by management and renamed Glencore.
He first became a billionaire in 2011 when Glencore went public, and currently owns more than 3% of the company’s stock.
6. George Argyros and Family (Ranked 1,580):
The grandson of Greek immigrants, Argyros worked his way through high school and college in southern California as a paperboy and grocery clerk.
Argyros, a real estate mogul, founded property firm Arnel & Affiliates in southern California in 1968 and currently serves as the CEO. His net worth is estimated at $2.1 billion.
George Argyros with his wife, Julianne.
The company owns 5,500 apartments in Orange County, California and nearly 2 million square feet of commercial real estate in southern California.
In January 2018, the Argyros family foundation pledged $7.5 million to renovate the Los Angeles Coliseum, home of the USC Trojans.
7. Ivan Savvidis (Ranked 1,833):
Ivan Savvidis, a Greek-Russian businessman, is the founder of Agrokom Group, whose assets include Russian tobacco firm Donskoy Tabak.
In 1980, he got a job at the Don State Tobacco Factory (now Donskoy Tabak) and was elected general director in 1993.
In 2003, he was elected a deputy of the State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian Legislation, as a member of United Russia, a pro-Putin party.
Ivan Savvidis, a Greek-Russian businessman.
In 2004, Savvidis founded Agrokom Group; it also owns meat processing and packing plants, greenhouse facilities and a sparkling water factory.
In 2012, his Greek company Dimera purchased 51% of soccer team FC PAOK in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Savvidis is estimated to have a net worth of $1.7 billion.
8. Theodore Leonsis (Ranked 2,141):
Theodore ‘Ted’ Leonsis is founder, majority owner and CEO of Monumental Sports, which owns several teams and arenas in Washington, D.C. His estimated worth is $1.4 billion, according to Forbes.
Subsidiaries include the NBA’s Wizards, the NHL’s Capitals, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, two Arena Football teams and Capital One Arena.
Theodore ‘Ted’ Leonsis is founder, majority owner and CEO of Monumental Sports.
The grandson of Greek immigrants, Leonsis initially built his fortune as a senior executive at AOL, where he worked for nearly 14 years.
He is a cofounder and partner at Revolution Growth, a venture capital firm helmed by AOL cofounder Steve Case.
In 2017, Laurene Powell Jobs reportedly bought 20% of Monumental Sports for hundreds of millions of dollars, making her the second largest shareholder.
9. Vardis J. Vardinoyannis (Ranked 2,141):
Vardis J. Vardinoyannis has an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion. He co-founded Motor Oil Hellas, a petroleum company based in Greece, with his late brother in 1970.
Vardis J. Vardinoyannis has an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion.
It went public on the Athens stock exchange in August 2001. Saudi Arabia’s Aramco was a major investor before divesting in 2005.
Vardis’ oldest son, John, is vice chairman while nephew, Nikos, also a major shareholder, is on the board.
Apart from Motor Oil, the family also invests in shipping, finance and soccer teams.
10. Stelios Haji-Ioannou (Ranked 2,378):
The son of a Greek Cypriot shipping magnate, Stelios Haji-Ioannou gets the bulk of his fortune from his stake in budget airline easyJet. His estimated net worth is $1.3 billion.
Stelios founded easyJet in 1995 after leaving his father’s company; his siblings Clelia and Polys both have large stakes in the airline.
Stelios Haji-Ioannou gets the bulk of his fortune from his stake in budget airline easyJet.
Stelios maintains ownership of the Easy brand through his private company, easyGroup.
Through his easyGroup, Stelios has licensed the easy brand name to such businesses as easyHotel, easyCar and easyCoffee.
In 2018, he filed a trademark claim against Netflix over their show “Easy” in a UK court.
11. Polys Haji-Ioannou (Ranked 2,524):
Polys Haji-Ioannou is the son of Cypriot shipping magnate Loucas Haji-Ioannou, who at one point owned the largest private tanker fleet in the world.
Polys Haji-Ioannou is the son of Cypriot shipping magnate Loucas Haji-Ioannou.
Most of his wealth derives from a large stake in easyJet, the discount airline founded by his younger brother, Stelios. His estimated net worth is $1.1 billion.
Polys continues the family’s shipping legacy with his own 17-tanker fleet. He has also invested heavily in both commercial and residential real estate, particularly in Cyprus, Greece and Norway.
12. George Yancopoulos (Ranked 2,524):
With an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion, according to Forbes, George Yancopoulos is the well-known chief scientific officer of biotech firm Regeneron.
He received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Columbia University and became a professor of biology by age 28.
George Yancopoulos has an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion.
Regeneron was cofounded by now-billionaire Leonard Schleifer in 1988. Yancopoulos joined the next year.
Yancopoulos led the invention of seven approved drugs and a technology platform designed to invent more. Yancopoulos owns about 2% of Regeneron stock.
Registrations are now open for the By George! 2021 inaugural biennial international art prize launched by South Australia’s Foundation for Hellenic Studies to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence.
Artists aged 16 and over, from around the world, are invited to submit artwork around the theme, ‘Independence: What is it good for?’ to encourage discussion about independence and revolution, its effect on humanity and the sacrifices made for it through the years.
The Art Prize, valued at $11,000, will be judged by a panel of artists and critics, with prize winners announced at a public exhibition opening on October 28, 2021, in the St George College Art Gallery at 104 Henley Beach Road, Mile End.
Artwork will be available for sale and all art will be viewable online as well as at the art gallery (subject to COVID-19).
For the ‘Judges Choice’ section, first prize will win $5,000, second prize – $3,000 and third prize – $1,000.
A Democratic (People’s) Choice Award will also be awarded and the winner will receive $2,000. Public voting for the category will be conducted online from October 21 and the winner will be announced on the exhibition opening night.
Artists must register their interest at www.bit.ly/3saTg4b or via the QR code on the form.
On April 8, 1996, Olympic gold-medallist and record-breaker Anna Korakaki was born. Anna is the first Greek female athlete to win two Olympic medals in a single tournament.
The Greek Herald takes a look at Greece’s tenured shooting champion.
Early life:
Anna Korakaki was born on 8 April 1996 in Drama, Thessaloniki, Greece. Anna is the eldest sister to fellow Olympic shooter, Dionysis Korakaki. Anna is three-years older than Dionysis.
It was Anna’s coach and father, former shooter Tassos Korakakis, who encouraged Anna to pick up pistol shooting at 8 years old and begin competing as a member of the Orion Shooting Club of Thessaloniki in 2009.
Korakaki complimented her professional shooting with a degree in Special Education and Rehabilitation from the University of Macedonia.
Anna Korakaki at a young age. Photo: Ellines.
Years later, Anna “disappointingly” and “sadly” placed fourth at the Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China.
“I remember thinking to myself, ‘Since I didn’t make it here, I will definitely not make something at the… great Olympics just two years from now. No way’,” she said.
Little did Anna know.
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:
Anna Korakaki represented Greece in her record-breaking maiden Olympic tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Anna took home the bronze medal with a score of 177.7 degrees in the 10m air pistol final – the first for Greece in the Olympic shooting competition since 1920.
Two days later, and just four days into the Games, Anna unrelentingly went neck-to-neck with Germany’s Monika Karsch in the 25m fire pistol competition before snatching Greece’s first gold medal since 2004.
Greece’s Anna Korakaki (right) faces off with Germany’s Monika Karsch (left) in the 25m pistol match of the 2016 Rio Games. Screengrab from YouTube user Xenophon Tsakanikas’ video ‘Anna Korakaki wins gold medal in 2016 Olympic’s Shooting – Women’s 25m Pistol (Aug 26 2016).’
Korakaki won four of the seven series in the match against Karsch to become the first Greek athlete to win two medals in a single Olympic tournament since Konstantinos Tsiklitiras at the 1912 Stockholm Games. She became the eighth Greek athlete to achieve this feat at just 20 years old.
Korakaki was greeted in Athens with the typical fanfare and a royal welcome. Sports Minister, Panagiotis Kouroumblis, hailed Korakaki a “child of all of Greece.”
Anna’s win accompanied controversy. Korakaki returned home to find her makeshift training facility demolished by the Drama Municipality. The state of the facility was receiving negative press during the Games.
“The first day of training is lost and so are [Drama’s Mayor Christodoulos Mamsakos’] promises!” Anna wrote in an Instagram post. “And… one month before the final!”
Anna Korakaki at the 2016 Rio Games. Photo: Getty Images.
Korakaki refers to the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Bologna, Italy, for which she would win gold in the 25m pistol event and be named the ISSF Shooter of the Year.
Post-Rio Games:
Anna went on to win gold at the 2018 ISSF World Cup in the USA; the International Shooting Sport Federation World Championships in South Korea; win gold at the HH The Amir of Kuwait Ninth International Shooting Grand Prix; gold at the H&N Cup in Germany; and many more.
Within four years from 2014 to 2018, Anna went from “missing the podium” at the Youth Olympics to breaking records and being elected by the IOC as an Athlete Role Model (ARM) at the Buenos Aires, Argentina, Games in 2018.
Anna became the first woman in history to front the COVID-safe Olympic torch relay in Olympia, Greece, in March 2020, ahead of the long-postponed 2021 Tokyo Games.
Anna Korakaki wins Bronze (right) and Gold (left) at the 2016 Rio Games. Photo: IOC.
Legacy:
The 25-year-old is currently gearing up for the unprecedented Olympic Games in Tokyo after a year of cancelled championships and tournaments.
Anna is active on her social media about political and social issues, from joining Stoiximan Group’s #OneTeam campaign to thank Greek frontline workers during the pandemic, to publicly supporting fellow Olympian Sofia Bekatorou in her decision to come forward with an allegation of sexual assault.
Anna has 111,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook. You can follow her on Instagram @annakorakaki.
Victorian coroner, Paresa Spanos, has recommended the state government urgently introduce drug testing for the first time, after the deaths of five young men who thought they were taking MDMA.
The men, who were between the ages of 17 and 32, died in five separate incidents between 2016 and 2017 after ingesting what contained a dangerous combination of two new psychoactive substances – 25C-NBOMe and 4-Fluoroamphetamine.
A 2020 inquest into the men’s deaths found each of the men acted erratically after taking the drugs, including headbutting walls and furniture, and experienced hallucinations and paranoia.
One of the men leapt to his death from a 10th floor balcony at his Melbourne CBD apartment.
Victorian coroner, Paresa Spanos, has recommended the state government urgently introduce drug testing.
On Wednesday, Ms Spanos called for the Victorian Department of Health to urgently introduce a public drug-checking service where samples of illicit drugs could be rapidly analysed for content and purity.
“For as long as illicit drug use exists in the community, Victorians will continue to be exposed to the risks of unregulated drug markets,” Ms Spanos said.
“The successful operation of drug early warning systems internationally, coupled with submissions from those working in harm minimisation, demonstrated that these evidence-based interventions could save lives.”
She noted models for drug-checking or pill-testing services included ones where people who had bought drugs submitted them for testing in person, through the mail or with a secure drop box.
“In some models, the results of analysis are provided back to the person who submitted the drug, together with tailored education on risks of consumption and strategies to manage these risks,” Ms Spanos said.
Ms Spanos’ suggestion follows the NSW coroner recommending pill testing be conducted in NSW in 2019 after an inquest into the drug-related deaths of six young people aged 18 to 23 at music festivals over two summers.
The head of the Athens Prosecutor’s Office has ordered an investigation into allegations of physical and verbal abuse, as well sexual harassment, made by 22 former athletes of rhythmic gymnastics against an unspecified number of coaches.
The probe is being launched against a backdrop of similar reports and lawsuits involving actors, directors and the country’s sailing federation.
The allegations were made in a letter sent to Greek President, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and later the sport’s federation. The athletes said that the incidents they described took place when they were young and training to become gymnasts.
Kathimerini understands that most of the complainants are athletes from Thessaloniki. The incidents date back to 1985 and, based on the allegations, included beatings, psychological abuse, corporal punishment and sexual harassment.
Popular Greek Canadian actress, Nia Vardalos, has officially confirmed on Instagram that a My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 film is in the works and will be filmed in Greece.
“Yes it is true that for over a year we have been trying to film a script that I wrote called, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. But what is also true is that we’re not filming… We are an independent film and apparently independent films cannot get insurance,” Vardalos says in the video.
“When we get film insurance, we are going to Greece to film.”
Vardalos then went on to say that everyone is welcome to be a part of the film.
The news leaked because one Greek found out. Thank you for the love. Soon, I hope! https://t.co/upN283hLy2
“I just wanted to explain this to you so that perhaps some of you, although I love your enthusiasm, can stop calling my mum’s house and asking if you can be in it. Yes, everyone can be in it if we can just get the insurance!” she exclaimed.
Vardalos played Fotoula “Toula” Portokalos in the first film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where her character falls in love with a “xeno” (non-Greek) Ian Miller.
The first My Big Fat Greek Wedding film was a huge success.
At the time, the film became the highest grossing romantic comedy of all time, grossing $241.4 million in North America, and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
The film sequel, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, was released on March 25, 2016 and only grossed $90 million at the box office with cameos by Rita Wilson and John Stamos.
But many were still waiting with bated breath for the announcement of a third film and it seems that day has finally come!
St George’s Greek community has been left outraged and disappointed after ‘Omeros on the Beach’ restaurant at Ramsgate Beach announced on its website that it has closed its doors for good after almost 20 years in business.
‘Omeros on the Beach’ was opened in 2002 by John Omeros and his wife Effie. Mr Omeros comes from a long line of restaurateurs, starting with The Paragon, La Perouse in 1970 and several other restaurants over the years.
The permanent closure reportedly came about because the restaurant was unable to renew its lease, which is managed by Bayside Council.
“It is with much disappointment, and sadness, as we are unable to renew our lease, we’ve closed our restaurant as of the 21st March 2021,” the statement reads.
‘Omeros on the Beach’ restaurant at Ramsgate Beach permanently closes after almost 20 years.
The restaurant’s Facebook page was flooded with comments from supporters after the announcement, with many blaming the council for the closure.
In response to this criticism, the Leaderreached out to Bayside Council for comment and a spokesman said the restaurant was located on Crown Land and was subject to a lease that expired on March 7, 2021.
“Council manages both the Crown Reserve and the lease relating to the restaurant,” the spokesman told the Leader.
“As commercial agreements expire over community and Crown Land, council is obliged to conduct a public marketing campaign and tender process prior to entering into new agreements, in particular where the properties have not been offered to the market for an extended period of time.
The restaurant had won numerous awards.
“Council will soon call for public tenders to lease the space and the existing operator has been advised that they are welcome to make a submission.
“The process of tendering commercial leases aligns with the recent process conducted for the Cahill Park Cafe (Wolli Creek) and the C-Side Cafe/Restaurant (Kyeemagh), and forthcoming sites, such as the proposed replacement of the Le Beach Hut Cafe/Restaurant.”
The restaurant had won numerous awards, including the Restaurant & Catering NSW Awards for Excellence for best formal seafood restaurant in 2019 and 2020.
It had also won numerous Leader St George Business Awards, including 2015 Business of the Year, and was awarded one hat in the prestigious Gault & Millaut restaurant guide in 2016 and 2017.
Libya is willing to discuss with Greece the issue of maritime zone delineation, government spokeswoman Aristotelia Peloni said on Wednesday, a day after Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, visited Tripoli.
Speaking on Skai radio, Peloni said the transitional administration of the North African country has proposed the creation of a technical committee to review the issue.
Athens wants to see the Turkish-Libya maritime border memorandum scrapped and a diplomatic rapprochement with a country of significant geographic and strategic interest for Greece.
In the same interview, Peloni denounced the 2019 pact as “groundless” and “invalid,” adding that it cast a cloud over Libya’s ties with Greece as well as with the European Union.
