Latest news with #Greek-American
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Self-made billionaire John Calamos says young people need to hustle — and have a mission in life — to be successful
John Calamos says young people need to work hard to succeed, but it's OK to change course in life. The billionaire investor and former Air Force pilot shared his advice for young people with BI. Calamos said that having a mission in life is vital, and wealth often comes as you work toward it. Self-made billionaire John Calamos says the road to success can be steep and winding, and wealthy parents should teach their kids that finding meaning in life trumps money. Calamos, 84, grew up in an apartment above his Greek-American family's grocery store, where he started working at a young age. He piloted jets during the Vietnam War before building his business empire. He's the founder of Calamos Investments, which manages assets worth more than $40 billion. Calamos, who published a biography, "The Sky's the Limit," in April, shared his advice for young people and parents with Business Insider. Calamos joined the military after taking to heart President John F. Kennedy's appeal for people to "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." The convertible-bond pioneer has a similar message for graduates: "You don't get out of school now and say, 'OK, what is the government going to give me?'" he said. "It's not what the government's going to give you, it's what you can do." Calamos said that he was able to become wealthy despite modest beginnings by being "creative, innovative." Being determined and having goals are key to achieving great things, he added. In his book, he writes that young people shouldn't bow to pressure to specialize early, as he found value in a "more winding path." Calamos started off as an engineering student, studied philosophy, switched to architecture, graduated with a degree in economics, then later earned an MBA. "It's OK to change course as you learn more about yourself — what you truly care about and what ignites your passion," he writes. Calamos added that it's crucial to keep learning, stay curious, and look for better ways to do things at every stage of one's career. "This focus on continual improvement, innovation, and learning has been key to my own success," he writes. Calamos shared one of his biggest takeaways from his childhood and suggested how affluent parents might avoid raising entitled children. "What I learned from my parents was just a work ethic," he told BI. "They worked hard all the time." Calamos began working from a young age, first stocking shelves in his family's store, later delivering groceries and newspapers, washing windows, and more. A parent's job isn't to simply hand money to their children, it's to instill in them the values of hard work and perseverance, he added. He said that the message should be, "It's not about the money, it's about the mission — the money is a byproduct." Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
01-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Self-made billionaire John Calamos says young people need to hustle — and have a mission in life — to be successful
John Calamos says young people need to work hard to succeed, but it's OK to change course in life. The billionaire investor and former Air Force pilot shared his advice for young people with BI. Calamos said that having a mission in life is vital, and wealth often comes as you work toward it. Self-made billionaire John Calamos says the road to success can be steep and winding, and wealthy parents should teach their kids that finding meaning in life trumps money. Calamos, 84, grew up in an apartment above his Greek-American family's grocery store, where he started working at a young age. He piloted jets during the Vietnam War before building his business empire. He's the founder of Calamos Investments, which manages assets worth more than $40 billion. Calamos, who published a biography, "The Sky's the Limit," in April, shared his advice for young people and parents with Business Insider. Forge your own path Calamos joined the military after taking to heart President John F. Kennedy's appeal for people to "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." The convertible-bond pioneer has a similar message for graduates: "You don't get out of school now and say, 'OK, what is the government going to give me?'" he said. "It's not what the government's going to give you, it's what you can do." Calamos said that he was able to become wealthy despite modest beginnings by being "creative, innovative." Being determined and having goals are key to achieving great things, he added. In his book, he writes that young people shouldn't bow to pressure to specialize early, as he found value in a "more winding path." Calamos started off as an engineering student, studied philosophy, switched to architecture, graduated with a degree in economics, then later earned an MBA. "It's OK to change course as you learn more about yourself — what you truly care about and what ignites your passion," he writes. Calamos added that it's crucial to keep learning, stay curious, and look for better ways to do things at every stage of one's career. "This focus on continual improvement, innovation, and learning has been key to my own success," he writes. Hard work and hustle Calamos shared one of his biggest takeaways from his childhood and suggested how affluent parents might avoid raising entitled children. "What I learned from my parents was just a work ethic," he told BI. "They worked hard all the time." Calamos began working from a young age, first stocking shelves in his family's store, later delivering groceries and newspapers, washing windows, and more. A parent's job isn't to simply hand money to their children, it's to instill in them the values of hard work and perseverance, he added. He said that the message should be, "It's not about the money, it's about the mission — the money is a byproduct."
Daily Mirror
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I visited every country in the world and asked everyone I met one question'
Michael Zervos embarked on a trip around the world, visiting 195 countries in 499 days and asking hundreds of people exactly the same question - what was the happiest day of your life? What is the happiest day of your life? That's the question Michael Zervos asked hundreds of people during his record-breaking, mammoth trip around the world. Last week, the Greek-American globetrotter returned to Detroit, his goal of reaching all 195 countries in the shortest time ever completed. He stopped the clock at 499 days. The former movie maker was not just motivated by the glory of becoming the speediest nation-visiting completist but also by a desire to understand what makes people tick in different parts of the world. Some similar themes quickly emerged. "There were a lot more similar answers than different ones. Many of them fall into particular themes, of connection, of relief or release from pain or agony. Many were mixes of sadness and happiness, like a knot. Sometimes, it was people coming through a period of sadness after a great event," Michael told the Mirror. "Specifically, about 10% of people who responded would say motherhood, fatherhood, or marriage." Amid all the expected answers were some more unusual gems, highly specific to the person and place. "In Russia, I interviewed six people. One was a 65-year-old woman who was at an art museum with her children. Her happiest moment was seeing her grandkids' artwork being exhibited alongside her own. Another time, a guy told me that his happiest day was at college when he met his idol, a rockstar of the Moscow mathematics scene. He met him and was given some words of wisdom," the traveler explained. Michael embarked on his project in the hopes of connecting with people across the world, in a way that would let him scratch a little beneath the surface. If, he had realised, the question was 'what makes you happy?' he'd be inundated with short, repetitive answers. 'Family'. 'Friends' 'Money'. However, ask people what the happiest day of their life was, and the answer is likely much more personal and considered. During our conversation, Michael suggested a quick-fire quiz. I'd name a country, he'd give me a 'happiest day' anecdote. We start with Samoa. "There was a fella named Christopher. A big, friendly, jovial guy. He was so proud of their heritage. Christopher's happiest moment was the time he got his entire heritage tattooed on himself. It is an extremely important decision for Samoans. You are taking upon the past traditions, heritage and the stories of your people on your body. It is very painful and traditionally takes place over long, long periods of time. You can't take any pain killers. You can't drink at all. It's 10 hour sessions, day after day. His happiest moment was when he completed it," Michael recalled. Next up, Sierra Leone - a country that typically finds itself at the bottom of global development indexes. "I got more interviews in Sierra Leone than in any other country. People lined up to be interviewed by me. There was a guy on the street talking about being a child soldier. This guy told me his happiest moment was running away, escaping (from the army)." The third country causes more pause for thought, and links to another reason Michael landed on his question. It is Finland, recently ranked as the happiest country in the world by the World Happiness Report for the eighth year in a row. "It was immensely difficult to get interviews out of Finns. Did I find them to be more happy? No, no I didn't." The more people Michael spoke to, the more he questioned the metrics used to measure happiness in the Report. He found them "somewhat Westernised" and unable to get to the core of what people want and what they're about. While he admits his work is limited by being so anecdotal and interpretive, Michael felt he got to the heart of some countries and what brings joy to the people there. "The Pacific Islands seemed the happiest region to me. There is a high level of community and support. It is a high trust society with tight cultural norms. They're in the here and now. We're here today and tomorrow and the rest is a dream. That is how people think of their realities there. They build together." Other places remained a mystery. "It was hard in some countries, especially Japan. There were things that seriously disappointed me and some that surprised me. I was walking through Tokyo, which I had imagined as the city of the future, a cyberpunk world. When I visited, it was hard for me to separate the metal from the living, undulating mass of people and concrete. The humanity and dignity of people somehow faded. It can be very isolating, immensely lonely, and amazing at the same time. The overstimulation in Japan. It can be extremely difficult to penetrate and interpret." Now Michael is back home he is working through his interviews, which are uploaded to his Instagram account. Soon, he will turn his investigation and travels into a book for Penguin Random House. Whether he gets to the bottom of what makes people happy, or the ingredients for a happy life, once all of his notes have been read through and interviews rewatched, remains to be seen.
The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
The biopic Maria is an ode to an opera legend and a style icon
With the release of Pablo Larraín's new biopic Maria, starring Angelina Jolie, the world is once again drawn into the life of Greek-American opera legend Maria Callas, whose artistry, ambition and isolation were inseparable from her myth. The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2024 and has been streaming on Lionsgate Play in India since May 9, 2025. A childhood marked by struggle Maria Anna Cecilia Kalogeropoulos was born in New York in 1923 to Greek immigrant parents. Her childhood was marred by family discords and poverty. When her parents separated, her mother took Maria and her sister back to Athens, just before World War II. Life in wartime Greece was bleak, but within that landscape, a remarkable voice came into being. Maria trained at Athens Conservatoire under soprano Elvira de Hidalgo, who saw not only the potential but the ferocity in her voice. She practised obsessively, isolated from friends, fuelled by her mother's ambition and her own growing hunger for greatness. She would later say her youth was stolen from her by music. A meteoric rise Her professional debut came in the 1940s in Athens, but it was in post-war Italy that her legend started to crystallise. By the age of 25, Maria had conquered the major Italian stages, singing with an intensity that audiences had not seen in decades. At Milan's Teatro alla Scala, she redefined operatic acting. Maria brought Bel Canto opera — long considered decorative and outdated — back into cultural prominence. In works by Bellini, Donizetti and early Verdi, she found emotional depth. Her Norma was torn between motherhood and priestly duty. Her Lucia descended into madness with devastating realism. These were not just performances. They were revelations. Her voice was unusual: expansive in range, volatile in colour, capable of both lyrical delicacy and volcanic force. Critics sometimes called it uneven. But even those who questioned her technique admitted they could not look away. Glamour and grit By the 1950s, Maria had become a global celebrity. Her drastic weight loss transformed her physically and visually aligned her with the 'fashion elite'. Designers such as Dior and Biki dressed her, photographers pursued her , and tabloids devoured every detail of her life. But the transformation was not without cost. Many believed her voice became fragile after the physical change. Others pointed to the sheer emotional toll her performances exacted. Either way, her career began to slow by the early 1960s. Offstage, her relationship with the Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, made headlines. When he left her for Jacqueline Kennedy, Maria was devastated. Those who knew Maria, said she never recovered emotionally, though she rarely spoke about it in public. Jolie's Maria In her final years, Maria withdrew from limelight, living in solitude in her Paris apartment. Friends noted her growing frailty (physical and emotional). She concealed her pain behind dark glasses and tailored suits. It is this fragile, human side that director Pablo Larraín explores in Maria, his introspective biopic starring Angelina Jolie. Set entirely in the last years of the singer's life, the film avoids the grandeur of her career, and instead, lingers on the quiet rituals of memory: letters, old videos, echoes of applause. Angelina's portrayal, informed by months of archival research, is inward and dignified. She plays Maria, not as a legend, but as a woman who once commanded the stage, but now, wrestles with silence. What emerges is not a portrait of a diva, but of a woman confronting the ghosts of her former self. A legacy etched in sound Maria died in 1977, at the age of 53. Her ashes were scattered in the Aegean Sea, not far from the land that had shaped her identity. In 2023, Athens inaugurated the Maria Callas Museum, marking her centenary with a collection of personal objects, costumes, recordings and letters. The museum reflects not only her artistic legacy but her enduring relevance to opera, theatre and performance. Her recordings remain widely studied and sold. Even today, no soprano can sing Tosca, Norma or La Traviata without facing comparison to Maria. But her influence is not measured only in sound. She changed the expectations of what an opera singer could be: not merely a singer, but an actor, a thinker and a human being on stage. Perhaps that is why Maria Callas still matters. Not because she was flawless, but because she was fearless.
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Maria Callas's final aria: an ode to a voice that echoes eternity
With the release of Pablo Larraín's new biopic Maria, starring Angelina Jolie, the world is once again drawn into the life of Greek-American opera legend Maria Callas, whose artistry, ambition and isolation were inseparable from her myth. The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2024 and has been streaming on Lionsgate Play in India since May 9, 2025. A childhood marked by struggle Maria Anna Cecilia Kalogeropoulos was born in New York in 1923 to Greek immigrant parents. Her childhood was marred by family discords and poverty. When her parents separated, her mother took Maria and her sister back to Athens, just before World War II. Life in wartime Greece was bleak, but within that landscape, a remarkable voice came into being. Maria trained at Athens Conservatoire under soprano Elvira de Hidalgo, who saw not only the potential but the ferocity in her voice. She practised obsessively, isolated from friends, fuelled by her mother's ambition and her own growing hunger for greatness. She would later say her youth was stolen from her by music. A meteoric rise Her professional debut came in the 1940s in Athens, but it was in post-war Italy that her legend started to crystallise. By the age of 25, Maria had conquered the major Italian stages, singing with an intensity that audiences had not seen in decades. At Milan's Teatro alla Scala, she redefined operatic acting. Maria brought Bel Canto opera -- long considered decorative and outdated -- back into cultural prominence. In works by Bellini, Donizetti and early Verdi, she found emotional depth. Her Norma was torn between motherhood and priestly duty. Her Lucia descended into madness with devastating realism. These were not just performances. They were revelations. Her voice was unusual: expansive in range, volatile in colour, capable of both lyrical delicacy and volcanic force. Critics sometimes called it uneven. But even those who questioned her technique admitted they could not look away. Glamour and grit By the 1950s, Maria had become a global celebrity. Her drastic weight loss transformed her physically and visually aligned her with the 'fashion elite'. Designers such as Dior and Biki dressed her, photographers pursued her , and tabloids devoured every detail of her life. But the transformation was not without cost. Many believed her voice became fragile after the physical change. Others pointed to the sheer emotional toll her performances exacted. Either way, her career began to slow by the early 1960s. Offstage, her relationship with the Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, made headlines. When he left her for Jacqueline Kennedy, Maria was devastated. Those who knew Maria, said she never recovered emotionally, though she rarely spoke about it in public. Jolie's Maria In her final years, Maria withdrew from limelight, living in solitude in her Paris apartment. Friends noted her growing frailty (physical and emotional). She had become dependent on a particular sedative that was prescribed for insomnia and anxiety during the 1960s and '70s. According to several biographers, Maria's reliance on prescription medication intensified post Onassis's marriage to Jacqueline. She reportedly battled bouts of depression, irregular heartbeat and fluctuating weight in the early 19'70s. Though these were rarely acknowledged in public, Maria too concealed her pain behind dark glasses, tailored suits, and carefully worded silences. It is this fragile, human side that director Pablo Larraín explores in Maria, his introspective biopic starring Angelina Jolie. Set entirely in the last years of the singer's ife, the film avoids the grandeur of her career, and instead, lingers on the quiet rituals of memory: letters, old videos, echoes of applause. Angelina's portrayal, informed by months of archival research, is inward and dignified. She plays Maria, not as a legend, but as a woman who once commanded the stage, but now, wrestles with silence. What emerges is not a portrait of a diva, but of a woman confronting the ghosts of her former self. A legacy etched in sound Maria died in 1977, at the age of 53. Her ashes were scattered in the Aegean Sea, not far from the land that had shaped her identity. Even in death, as in life, she was elusive — no autobiography, no farewell interviews, only an echo of her voice. In 2023, Athens inaugurated the Maria Callas Museum, marking her centenary with a collection of personal objects, costumes, recordings and letters. The museum reflects not only her artistic legacy but her enduring relevance to opera, theatre and performance. Her recordings remain widely studied and sold. Even today,no soprano can sing Tosca, Norma or La Traviata without facing comparison to her influence is not measured only in sound. She changed the expectations of what an opera singer could be: not merely a singer, but an actor, a thinker and human being on stage. The flame that endured Maria was never content to be admired from a distance. She demanded engagement. Her artistry was messy, raw, sometimes painful. She reached into roles and ripped them open. Her voice cracked. She missed notes. But she was never boring. She made the audience feel. In an era of perfection, hers is a voice that reminds us of something more human. She did not hide her pain, but transformed it. In doing so, she changed the face of opera. Perhaps that is why Maria Callas still matters. Not because she was flawless, but because she was fearless.
