Stavros Niarchos Biography

Greek shipping heir, Stavros Niarchos III was born on April 17, 1985 in New York City. His namesake and grandfather, Stavros Niarchos I, was rivals with another Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis. As the oldest of three children, Niarchos grew up in Paris, France, with his parents and younger brother and sister. He attended a Parisian private school with Princess Caroline of Monaco's children, Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre. Following high school, Niarchos moved to the United States, where he studied film at the University of Southern California.Niarchos first entered the public just a few short years ago as the other half of a high-profile Hollywood couple, when he began dating Mary-Kate Olsen. Niarchos then hooked up with socialite Paris Hilton just weeks after she had split with another Greek shipping heir, Paris Latsis. Soon after hooking up with Hilton, Niarchos became tabloid fodder for his own exploits. According to one story published in Us Weekly, Niarchos attempted to amuse his crew of friends after a night of clubbing by offering a homeless man outside of Burger King $100 to pour soda on himself. Niarchos late-night party antics continued to grab headlines when he crashed Hilton's $170,000 Bentley into a parked truck, nearly hitting a bystander as he sped away.Niarchos continued to damage other people's property along with his reputation in 2005, after causing $100,000+ worth of damage to a Las Vegas hotel hosting Kelly Osbourne's 21st birthday. The damage was reportedly caused by a pillow fight which tripped the fire sprinklers and caused several hotel rooms to become waterlogged. The incident even embarrassed Hilton, who was concerned that the hotel would affiliate her with Niarchos behavior. The couple split shortly afterwards, but have remained on-again-off-again since.During some of those off-again periods with Hilton, Niarchos was romantically linked to actress and Hilton rival, Lindsay Lohan. According to Page Six, Lohan proposed that the two hook up to get back at their exes, who were dating each other. Lohan was overheard telling Niarchos in a nightclub: No one can know I got dumped. You will look like a total stud, and it will drive Paris crazy.Proving that Niarchos connections in Tinsel Town run deep, his 21st birthday party included famous friends, Courtney Love, Billy Corgan, Brett Rattner, Milla Jovovich, Elisha Cuthbert, Kimberly Stewart, and Brody Jenner.Niarchos is an avid kitesurfer, and has appeared in kitesurfing DVDs and magazines. He has also appeared alongside Kate Bosworth in her January 2005 pictorial for GQ magazine.