why are there so many greek shipping magnates
Greek shipping Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and has been a key element of Greek economic activity since ancient times.[1] Today, shipping is the country's most important industry worth $9 billion in 2015, 4% of the country's GDP. If related businesses are added, the figure jumps to $17 billion or 7.5% of GDP, employs about 192,000 people (4% of the workforce), and shipping receipts are about 1/3 of the nation's trade deficit.[2] [3] In 2015, the Greek Merchant Navy controlled the world's largest merchant fleet, in terms of tonnage, with a total DWT of 334,649,089 tons and a fleet of 5,226 Greek-owned vessels, according to Lloyd's List.[4] Greece is also ranked in the top for all kinds of ships, including first for tankers and bulk carriers.
Greek government-debt crisis Initially, European banks had the largest holdings of Greek debt. However, this shifted as the "troika" (ECB, IMF and a European government-sponsored fund) purchased Greek bonds. As of early 2015, the largest individual contributors to the fund were Germany, France and Italy with roughly €130bn total of the €323bn debt.[168] The IMF was owed €32bn and the ECB €20bn. As of 2015, various European countries still had a substantial amount of loans extended to Greece.[169]