The wedding of the year will take place this Saturday, June 17 in Kastellorizo for Greek-Australian Antonis Liveris, son of Greek-Australian billionaire Andreas Liveris, and the island will be visited by dozens of financial players from around the world.
Andrew Liveris is also Chairman of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Organizing Committee.
Shipments containing wedding materials have already started arriving on the island, and various passengers from Australia and the United States coming by ferry are also expected in the coming days.
In addition to Antonis, Mr. Liveris has two other children (Nikolas and Alexandra) and he often visits his home island in the summer with his wife Paola.
The Greek-Australian billionaire was born in Australia, his grandfather having immigrated in 1910 where he spent his difficult early years in Darwin.
Andreas’ father, a carpenter by trade, died suddenly of a tropical illness when Andreas was nine years old, his mother moving her family (him and his two sisters) to Brisbane to be closer to his siblings and his relatives.
Andreas worked from a young age to support his family and later became a director and owner of the company he was first hired into as a student.
He completed his chemical engineering studies on a government scholarship at the University of Queensland.
Following his upward trajectory, he quickly became chairman and CEO of The Dow Chemical Company, which had annual sales of more than $58 billion in 2014, and then merged it with DuPont to create DowDuPont, a $130 billion company of which he is CEO.
In addition to his business roles, he currently serves on the board of directors of IBM, is vice chairman of the US Business Roundtable and a member of the US President’s Export Council.
In 2012, he co-founded “The Hellenic Initiative” to mobilize the international Greek and Philhellenic community, with the aim of strengthening Greece in the economic crisis and providing aid.
He has received numerous honors, including the Entrepreneurship Award from the International Foundation for Greece, the Capital Link Leadership Award, the Aristeio Award in Business from the American Hellenic Council, and the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Excellence Award.
He even wrote a book called “Make it in America” in which he presents and analyzes a comprehensive series of practical business policy and strategy solutions for successful businesses.
It also exerts great influence on economic and political events in the United States.
He was appointed by then-US President Donald Trump to the Council for Construction Revitalization and Economic Development, after serving on a related committee in Barack Obama’s administration.
In Greece, he was honored as a personality alongside legendary composer Vangelis Papathanasiou, biology professor Aristidis Patrinos, 20th Century Fox CEO Dimitris N. Giannopoulos, journalist Nikos Aliagas and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
The successful businessman has already declared his origin:
“I am a proud Greek. Even though I wasn’t born by the Aegean Sea or the Mediterranean, I come from a country that loves beaches, Australia. There are millions of Greeks like me all over the world, who were born abroad but who love and are connected to their homeland. We grew up listening to stories from our parents and grandparents about Greek history. No matter our accent or where we currently live, we always feel a special connection to Greece.”
Mr. Liveris’s investments began to expand into Asia. He is considered one of the most influential entrepreneurs and has been named “No No. 1 Player” in the global chemical markets three times (2010, 2012, 2013) by ICIS Chemical Business magazine.
