George Averoff

Who was George Averoff?

George M. Averoff, alternately Georgios Averof, was a Greek businessman and philanthropist of Aromanian origin. He is one of the great national benefactors of Greece. Born in the town of Metsovo Averoff moved to Alexandria while still young. He was known through most of his life for founding numerous schools in both Egypt and Greece.

He moved to Cairo, Egypt, in 1837 to work in his brother, Anastasios’s, shop. Thanks to his bold tactics and business activities he became the biggest merchant in Egypt. At the same time he got involved in the banking business, the real estate business while with his many riverboats traveling up and down the Nile he managed to dominate Egypt’s domestic and foreign trade. His business activities resulted in the accumulation of vast wealth which he used to donate to charity and common good purposes. His multilevel charity work includes significant donations for the development of educational and other infrastructure projects to the Greek community of Alexandria, Metsovo, Athens and the Greek state in general.