Nationality Greek | Residence Fontvieille, Monaco | |
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Born 8 January 1965 (age 52) ( 1965-01-08 ) Cairo, Egypt Occupation Businessman, Investor, Diplomat, Entrepreneur | ||
Nicolas George Ioannou (Greek: Νικόλας Γιώργος Ιωάννου; born 8 January 1965), also known as "Rudy", is a Greek-Cypriot yacht and speedboat manufacturer (that started yacht building in 1991) and a development magnate. He is the president, chairman and CEO of several companiesc including Aphrodite Marine Enterprises, Echinops Ltd. and other subsidiary companies, as well as partaking in other significant investments that are linked to 5-star hotels and residential complexes and marina developments. Ioannou has been appointed by the Cypriot president as honorary consul of Cyprus in the Sinai Peninsula. He has an estimated net worth of around US$1.4 billion.
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Boat-racing
During the time he resided in Egypt, he was the national UIM president. As a speed boat manufacturer he organised the first red sea rib rally and brought to this event a long list of world class royalty, celebrities, business people and adventurers, and created thereafter a series of events which included the first ever Formula 2 race in the Egyptian Nile, "les 8 heurs du nil". Rudy, also personally participated in a boat racing event in Zeebrugge in which he came first. However boat racing, boat races, and boat building reportedly remain to this day his hobby. In 2007, he moved to Monaco where he stayed in his apartment in Fontvieille to work more closely with the UIM.
Politics
Ioannou was in Egypt during the 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks where he intervened to rescue the Cypriot tourists in Egypt at that time. After providing refuge to the surviving victims he was highly esteemed as a man of resources to aid the Cypriot government in political missions during crisis. This led to him becoming the Honorary Consul of Cyprus in Egypt where he was able to provide an exit from Egypt to Cypriots who desired to leave the country in a time where Egyptian airports shut down for security reasons during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.
Projects in progress
Some of Nicolas Ioannou's next up and coming projects which are not due until after 2018 are rumoured to be managed through one of his companies in which there is a project to build a new commercial and residential compound and marina, as well as another massive project of several towers that consist of 5-star luxury apartments and a hotel that are rumoured to break the records for the tallest and most aesthetic buildings in their countries. Within the magnitude of these projects Nicolas Ioannou is undertaking, he is reported to be partners with an Egyptian and Saudi Arabian billionaire who are major shareholders within the company.
Land Ownership
Ioannou owns a significant amount of land in Cyprus which he is said to have inherited from his grandfather. This land was owned by his grandfather before the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus in the north. However to this day the land in Kyrenia and other districts remain in his ownership. This has contributed substantially to his net worth.