Stelios Haji-Ioannou

Born in Athens, Greece, on February 14, 1967, Stelios is the son of Greek-Cypriot shipowner Loucas Haji-Ioannou. He worked at his father’s Troodos Shipping business in Piraeus before receiving family funding for his own ventures. His official CV identifies him as a dual citizen of Cyprus and the United Kingdom.⁠[3][4]

He graduated from the London School of Economics in 1987 with a BSc in Economics, Industry and Trade. In 1988 he earned an MSc in Shipping, Trade and Finance from City University’s business school.⁠[5][6]

His official biography, updated in 2026, dates his residence in Monaco to 1990 and describes his work through a family office and local foundation there. This predates the 2026 reports discussing wealthy Britons in Monaco.⁠[1]

He founded Stelmar in 1992 and listed it on the New York Stock Exchange in 2001. He stepped down as chairman in 2002 while retaining shares. In January 2005, he publicly supported selling the company and said he intended to concentrate on branding.⁠[2]

His official biography dates the development of easyJeteasyJeteasyJet is a low-cost airline and holidays group founded by Stelios Haji-Ioannou and headquartered at London Luton Airport in the United Kingdom. Flight operations began in 1995, and easyJet plc was listed in 2000.Open the full entry and the easy brand to 1994. The airline’s first flight departed London Luton for Glasgow on November 10, 1995, a separate milestone from the initial venture.⁠[4][7]

easyJet listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2000 to finance fleet expansion. Stelios retained the easy brand rights in his private business, easyGroup, and extended the brand into hotels, car rental, storage and finance.⁠[4]

Stelios established a scholarship program at LSE. In its 2024 review marking twenty years of the program, the university reported support for 145 students and cumulative donations of £3.95 million.⁠[5]

Overseas Shipholding Group completed the acquisition of Stelmar on January 20, 2005. It reported cash consideration of $48 per share, approximately $844 million for shareholders in total, and a purchase price of about $1.35 billion including assumed debt. The larger figure was not Stelios’s personal proceeds.⁠[8]

Queen Elizabeth II awarded Stelios a knighthood in 2006 for services to entrepreneurship.⁠[1]

He established the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation in 2011. It supports education, entrepreneurship and community causes in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Monaco, France, Greece and Cyprus.⁠[1][9]

In his Giving Pledge letter dated May 11, 2017, he committed half his estate to his UK charitable foundation and a portion of annual income to philanthropy, intending the foundation to continue after his death.⁠[10]

Prince Albert II presented Stelios with the Order of Saint Charles at the Prince’s Palace of Monaco on November 17, 2023. The foundation reported the ceremony on November 20.⁠[11]

easyGroup reported donations of £12.7 million for the year ended September 30, 2025 and said it gives at least 51% of annual profits to the foundation. Its website lists cumulative contributions of €122 million since 2010 from Stelios and easyGroup combined.⁠[9]

easyJet: Official website: https://www.easyjet.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[1]

easyGroup: Official website: https://easy.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[4]

Stelios Philanthropic Foundation: Official website: https://stelios.org/ (opens in a new window).⁠[9]

Stelios Haji-Ioannou: LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stelios-haji-ioannou/ (opens in a new window).⁠[11]