Greece-based media organization Solomon’s new investigation reveals the intricate ownership structures behind Greek media, linking 762 companies to 12 major owners, many involved in sectors like shipping, finance, and energy. With ties to tax havens, these owners wield media as a tool of influence. In this interview with the International Press Institute (IPI), Solomon’s journalist and data editor Corina Petridi discusses the findings, and the broader implications for press freedom in Greece.

At the beginning of 2024, a report authored by Solomon journalist Danai Maragoudaki and produced by IPI assessed systemic threats to independent journalism in Greece. Based on Somolon’s latest investigation, what were some of the new, most surprising revelations about the ownership structures of major Greek media groups?

Our investigation links 762 companies to 12 prominent media owners in Greece. 94 out of these entities are media companies operating mostly in Greece, controlling TV channels, radio stations, newspapers and online media among other things.

Apart from that, our research showed that their business activity expands in several business sectors. More specifically, we grouped their companies into 14 business sectors – the most frequent ones being maritime (164), finance (153) and energy (114).

An interesting pattern we stumbled upon was the shipping-sports team-media triptych; 6 out of the 10 groups we examined fall into this pattern, something that appears to be happening in other countries as well, according to previous reporting by the Wall Street Journal.

The companies we included in the network are registered in 32 countries. Half of them (386) are registered in Greece and then there’s Cyprus (122) and the Marshall Islands (61) – two countries identified as tax havens by the Greek Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAEA). Cyprus appears to be an appealing jurisdiction for many Greek businessmen because of law taxation and also because the legal system allows service providers such as accounting and law firms to appoint nominee directors and shareholders in their clients’ companies, ensuring a significant degree of anonymity. On the other hand, the Marshall Islands appear to be welcoming for many shipowners, including four of the businessmen we investigated.

Finally, our reporting showed that the 10 biggest TV channels in Greece currently owe a cumulative total of 350 million euros in the banking system, which reveals that the Greek media industry is not a lucrative one, but rather one that is used to exert influence.


Solomon’s new report explores media ownership across 30 countries, uncovering business ties to sectors like shipping, sports, and real estate. Can you explain how the international business interests of Greek media owners impact domestic media narratives?

In this project, our goal was not to offer interpretations but to document in a systematic way the business activity of twelve top media owners in Greece. Before our investigation, one could find articles linking one company to an entrepreneur, but this information was scattered. Through our research, we confirmed what we were reading in these articles by attaining in most cases the official proof of ownership or by finding strong indications of ownership. We were also able to find dozens more companies whose ownership was previously unknown. We put all this information in one place, on the website we created, so that we provide the reader the necessary context to understand or suspect why a news story is published on one website and another one is not.

In any case, it is clear to us that a media outlet controlled by a businessman will never publish a negative story about another company owned by the same person, let alone launch an investigation into whether that company is involved in illegal activities.