Shortly before Easter in 2008, Antoine Maalouf arrived at the offices of the Greek Tourism Minister with an unusual request: he wanted to buy a Greek island.
Through marriage and schooling (American Protestant mission schools creating converts), the Maalouf family was thoroughly mixed up, and mostly was happy with this.
It was a short boat ride from Athens, and Maalouf planned to pack it with casinos, golf courses, luxury accommodations for 50,000 people, and a marina for thousands of yachts.