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Christina struggled with an eating disorder and an addiction to diet pills until her death from heart failure brought on by a suspected drug overdose in 1988, when Athina was just 3 years old. So her decision to take on the foundation surprised some observers. Athina has already shown signs of her mother's chutzpah and a willingness to go her own way. She dropped out of high school at 17, but became a talented horsewoman and linguist. She renounced the Onassis name at the urging of her father, Thierry Roussel, at the age of 13, telling judges that she felt "great aversion" to all things Greek, but she later shook off Roussel's influence. A French playboy who married and then divorced Christina, Roussel used to manage Athina's fortune in concert with the foundation, though his own relations with its members were stormy — Roussel even accused Athina's Greek trustees of plotting to kidnap his daughter. Athina eventually bucked against his control, and moved to Brussels where she became involved with her current husband, a man 12 years her senior. When, in response to this liaison, her father attempted to tighten the purse strings, Athina took him to court, winning full control of her money, minus an $84 million settlement for Roussel.
Last September she set her sights on the foundation. But its board members say that Onassis didn't want relatives running his empire. In 2003, the board voted unanimously to scrap the clauses Christina had imposed, saying the notion of a hereditary presidency was against the "letter and spirit of Onassis' will." The board also sanctioned a change of guard at the foundation, with Papadimitriou, 51 and an attorney-cum-economist, taking over the role of president from his father and longtime Onassis aide, Stelios Papadimitriou. Alexis Mantheakis, a former spokesman for the Roussel family, says bluntly: "The foundation has clearly slammed the door on Athina. There's still hope, though, that she can pry it wide open."
Perhaps. Documents obtained by Time, including copies of the Onassis will and its revised terms, stipulate that, while the foundation's charter may be subject to alterations, the specific terms imposed by Christina shall "not be amended." This includes the clause about the hereditary presidency of the foundation, but Papadimitriou is undaunted. "I don't think Ms. Roussel is automatically eligible for the presidency," he says. "The clause needs interpretation. It speaks about capacity and willingness to serve. And its implementation is subject to the discretion of the board." Another senior board member says: "I can't envision myself, or for that matter any other board member, reporting to a high school dropout — however charming and sympathetic — on crucial business decisions."
Sentiments like this haven't stopped Athina from launching a charm offensive in tandem with her legal moves. One aim seems to be to soothe any Greek feelings she may have injured in her youthful rejection of her origins. Last year she and Doda joined an equestrian club 20 miles east of Athens, with the aim of competing for the Greek national riding team in the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Athina has also renewed her Greek passport, and is rumored to be house hunting in Greece. "It's all about giving her a chance," says Yiannis Aletras, an Athens-based lawyer who has represented Thierry Roussel. "Who's to say her grandfather, however shrewd a businessman, would not have given her that chance at the foundation — even as an honorary member?" Those old enough to remember the pugnacious and unsentimental tycoon may doubt that's true. Yet if his granddaughter has inherited even a touch of his spirit, she won't be giving up her fight anytime soon.