Skorpios
Scorpios is an idyllic island belonging to Greek shipping tycoon, Aristotle “Ari” Onassis. He is popular as the husband of Jackie Kennedy, the former First Lady, and the widow of John F. Kennedy. In 1968, Jackie and Ari married on Skorpios. It is located on the Ionian Sea and is one of the Greek Islands. It is located to the west of the mainland, and east of Lefkada Island. The island is unusual in shape and overs about 3,280 by 4,921-feet. Today, there are sandy beaches and thick forests, but it hasn’t always been this way.
Transforming the Island
When Ari purchased the island back in 1962 to be a private retreat, it was pretty barren. He bought the land for 3.5 million drachmas, which equals to about $12,000 in today’s money. As soon as he purchased the island, he started working to make it an inviting place to be. To do this, he had over 200 types of trees planted on the island. He then worked to create forests that would run the whole length of the island, creating a leafy landscape. To create East Beach on the island, he used sand that he bought from Greece’s Salamis Island.
Worldwide Attention
The island never really got too much attention until 1968. Ari and Jackie Kennedy had been friends for a long time. It wasn’t until he helped her after the death of her husband and her brother-in-law that the two became romantically involved. Jackie Kennedy worried about the two deaths in her family. She was sure that people were trying to kill off the Kennedy family, and she feared for her safety and the safety of her children. She believed that the only way to keep her family safe was to get out of the United States. Ari made Jackie feel safe and secure, which was one of the things that brought the couple together.
October 1968
The couple got married in October 1968. Ari was 23-years older than his new bride. Even though Ari was one of the richest men on the planet, and Jackie was one of the most beloved First Ladies in history, their wedding was very intimate. The couple had a Greek Orthodox service, and Jackie’s two children who she shared with John F. Kennedy, Caroline and John Fr. both involved in the celebration. Jackie’s sister, Lee Radziwill, was also part of the wedding. In total, 40 guests were either family or close friends. For such a high-profile couple, this was a very small wedding.
After the Wedding
After the couple said their vows, they and their guests boarded Ari’s superyacht, Christina, for the reception. The island always remained a huge part of the couple’s life together, as it was one of their six homes. They also had homes in Paris, Manhattan, New Jersey, and Athens. They also lived on Christina from time to time.
Lack Of Privacy
You would think that because Skorpios was a private island, you would think that they would have all the privacy in the world. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that way. Due to the couple’s fame, their privacy was invaded. In 1971, a photographer took a photo of Jackie sunbathing naked on one of the island’s beaches. The photographs were published in Italy in 1972, and people in the United States were outraged. The man who took the photo was an Italian paparazzo named Settimio Garritano, who pretended to be a gardener.
Ari’s Family
Ari’s two children, Alexander and Christina, didn’t like Jackie. They always hoped that Ari would reunite with their mother Tina, and Jackie was in the way. When Alexander died in a plane crash when he was 24-years-old, it caused Christina to dislike Jackie even more. When her father’s health started failing, Christina tried to convince her father that Jackie was cursed. She used the assassinations John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy to support her claim.
Ari’s Death
Ari died in Paris in 1975. Christina was named his sole heir, but Jackie contested the will. After two years of negotiations, Jackie accepted a $26 million settlement. Ari was laid to rest on Skorpios, where his son was also buried. After Ari died, the misfortune of the Kennedy/Onassis family didn’t end. In 1988, Christina died from a cardiac arrest at the age of 37. Jackie died at the age of 64 in 1999, after developing Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. After Christina died, her fortune went to her only child, Athina Onassis Roussel. Her inheritance made her one of the richest women in the world, but never visited the island where her family was buried. After marrying a Brazilian showjumper named Alvaro de Miranda Neto, she moved to Sao Paulo.
Selling the Island
Since Christina had no interest in the island, he got offers from Giorgio Armani and Bill Gates to buy it. She ended up selling the island to a Russian heiress named Ekaterina Rybolovleva in 2013. She purchased the island for $150 million, but never mentioned what she wanted to do with it. For a while, tourists were allowed to visit a few small coves on the island, but that has since changed. Today, nobody is permitted on the island.
Bodyguards
Today, the idyllic Greek island where Jackie Kennedy got married is now mysteriously guarded by armed men. Ekaterina has hired a special team of bodyguards from the U.S. and France to patrol the island around the clock. They have guns and advanced surveillance equipment. She even wanted a team of frogmen to guard the waters. Nobody knows why she wants to keep people so far from the island, but there have been rumors that Ari haunts the island.
