Alki David Explained

Alki David
Birth Name:Alkiviades David
Birth Place:Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
Occupation:Entrepreneur, film producer
Children:2

Alkiviades David (born May 1968; pronounced) is a Cypriot-British businessman and actor. In 2008 he was the majority shareholder of Leventis-David Group, which owns Coca-Cola Hellenic bottling plants in 28 countries.[1] [2] His companies include the Internet-based television provider FilmOn, the home-shopping website 9021go.com, the streaming-video site BattleCam.com, and the modelling agency Independent Models. He has also appeared in feature films and on television. In a 2021 interview with The Daily Beast about an $80 million judgement against him for sexual battery, David claimed to be "completely exhausted" of cash resources, and added prior claims he was a billionaire were "complete fiction" he had manufactured.[3] Following judgements levied against him in multiple suits, David alleged the California court system was part of a corrupt conspiracy and publicly refused to comply with court ordered payments.[4] After failing to appear at multiple court-ordered appearances, David's lawyer reported there were discussions underway to place him into conservatorship as his client was suffering from "downward spiralling mental health" issues.[5]

Early life

Alkiviades David was born in May 1968,[6] in Lagos, Nigeria, to a trading and shipping family of Greek-speaking-Cypriot origin.[7] His father, Andrew A. David (1934–2000), was born in Petra, Cyprus and went on to study business at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. In 1957, Andrew A. David joined the family business, the Leventis-David Group in Ghana, where he managed Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in Accra.[8]

David attended high school in Switzerland[9] and studied film at the Royal College of Art.

Career

In 1998, he co-founded the London modelling agency Independent Models, whose models included Helena Christensen.[10]

In 2006, David partnered with veteran film producer Elliott Kastner to launch 111 Pictures Ltd., a UK-based independent production and international sales company. Also that year, David started FilmOn, an online streaming site.

He has appeared in films, including a 2008 motion picture, The Bank Job, in which David played a tunneling expert hired by Jason Statham to help with a bank heist.

According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2020 his net worth, combined with the Leventis family, was estimated at £2.35 billion.[11] However, various news reports in 2021 quoted David as noting billionaire claims were his own fabrications, and following multi-million-dollar judgements against him claimed he was "exhausted" of any funds.[12]

In 2024, David was ranked, together with the Leventis family, as the 60th richest person in the UK, 2nd richest Cypriot [13]

Personal life

David has been married three times and divorced twice,[14] and has two sons, Andrew and Alexander, with his first wife.[15] He met second wife Emma McAllister in 2004, marrying her in 2007, and separating in 2009. As of 2011 he is married to Jennifer Stano, a swimsuit designer and former model who founded Have Faith Swimwear with David in Beverly Hills, California, in 2010.[16] In May 2019, it was reported that David was arrested in St. Kitts after US$1.5 million of cannabis was found on his private plane.[17]

Business

David's projects include:

Litigations

CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox Broadcasting and their studios won a temporary restraining order against David's FilmOn in November 2010 to prevent unlicensed use of their broadcast signals. David sued CBS, dropped the suit, and sued CBS Interactive in November 2011, alleging copyright infringement due to the CNET website having editorially covered infringing uses of peer-to-peer file-sharing software.[23] [24] [25] In June 2013, David filed a countersuit against the four networks seeking a ruling that providing Internet technology for receiving over-the-air broadcast signals at no charge does not violate broadcasters' copyrights.[26]

In April 2019 a jury decided David should pay $11 million in damages to a woman who accused him of sexual assault, including $8 million in punitive damages and $3 million in compensatory damages. The woman accused David of firing her after she turned down his sexual advances and alleged he groped her in the workplace. Her complaint also accused him of showing lewd photos to employees and hiring a stripper in the workplace.[27]

In 2019 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed complaints claiming David "engaged in a fraudulent scheme to induce the investing public to buy securities of Hologram and its subsidiary in unlawfully unregistered offerings, through materially false and misleading representations" in violation of the Securities Act of 1933. David was ordered to pay $100,000 in fines and was enjoined from being an officer in publicly held companies for a period of five years.[28]

In 2019, David was arrested at the airport in St Kitts and Nevis for possession of over EC$1.3 million worth of cannabis after a search of his private jet.[29]

Filmography

YearTitleCharacterType
2004The Freediver Hector Also director, producer and writer
The Grid Yussef Nasseriah TV series (one episode)
2005Opa! Spiros Kakogiannis
Spooks Badrak Madjid TV series (one episode)
2006 Hotel Babylon Mr. Pappas TV series (one episode)
2007Living with Lew Co-producer
Flight of Fury Rojar Direct-to-DVD
Voyage: Killing Brigitte Nielsen Villain Also director, producer, writer, and editor
Fishtales Captain Mavros Also director, producer, writer, and editor
2008 The Bank Job Bambos
2009Trial & Retribution Hikmet TV series (one episode)
Waking the Dead Coban TV series (two episodes)
2012 Secrets of a Trophy Wife Himself TLC special
2015 Mr. Network

Notes and References

  1. News: Fame and Fortune: Cut! Bond thriller is not for me. The film fan and Coca-Cola Hellenic tycoon Alki David is keen to reduce his holding in government stock . . 10 March 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131006015852/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/money/fameandfortune/article1226752.ece . dead . 6 October 2013 . 6 April 2010 . London . Ali . Hussain.
  2. News: A billionaire who'd rather be an actor . The Sunday Times . 16 March 2008 . 6 April 2010 . London . Ali . Hussain.
  3. https://www.thedailybeast.com/disgraced-billionaire-alki-david-says-he-faked-his-way-onto-the-rich-lists Disgraced ‘Billionaire’ Says He Faked His Way Onto the Rich Lists
  4. https://www.courthousenews.com/coca-cola-bottling-heir-demands-judge-recuse-herself-citing-bizarre-conspiracy-theory/ Coca-Cola bottling heir demands judge recuse herself, citing bizarre conspiracy theory
  5. https://www.courthousenews.com/coke-bottling-heirs-mental-health-in-downward-spiral-lawyer-says/ Coke bottling heir’s mental health in ‘downward spiral,’ lawyer says
  6. Web site: FilmOn TV Limited. Companies House. 29 August 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150829193518/https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06047620/officers . 29 August 2015. live .
  7. News: Billionaire Heir Battling Restraining Order From 'Big Four' Networks . . 23 November 2010 . 29 March 2012 . Clare . O'Connor . 19 December 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121219022955/http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2010/11/23/billionaire-heir-battling-restraining-order-from-big-four-networks/ . live .
  8. Book: Curran, Patrick D. . COBRA: The X-Factor in Strategy Execution . Authorhouse. Bloomington, Indiana. 5 November 2009 . Dedication page . 9781438924816. 3 January 2012.
  9. News: Compressed Data; E-Commerce Twist: Full-Service Shipping . . 12 July 1999 . 6 April 2010 . Laurie J. . Flynn . https://web.archive.org/web/20140108190220/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/12/business/compressed-data-e-commerce-twist-full-service-shipping.html . 8 January 2014 . live .
  10. News: Alki David: British billionaire's $1m dare to person who streaks in front of Barack Obama . Andrew . Hough . . UK . 17 August 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130102085651/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/7949884/Alki-David-British-billionaires-1m-dare-to-person-who-streaks-in-front-of-Barack-Obama.html . 2 January 2013 . live .
  11. News: Times. The Sunday. Rich List 2020: profiles 51-100, featuring Bernie Ecclestone. . en. 2020-07-15. 0140-0460.
  12. https://www.thedailybeast.com/disgraced-billionaire-alki-david-says-he-faked-his-way-onto-the-rich-lists Disgraced ‘Billionaire’ Says He Faked His Way Onto the Rich Lists
  13. News: Five Cypriots in Sunday Times Rich List’s top 100 . Cyprus Mail . May 21, 2024 . July 11, 2024.
  14. News: Alki David : a man of many parts . Business XL . May 2008 . 6 April 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100323235357/http://www.businessxl.co.uk/businessxl-magazine/trailblazers/337731/alki-david--a-man-of-many-parts.thtml . 23 March 2010 . dead .
  15. News: Meet Alki David: The Billionaire Hollywood Bad Boy Being Sued by Every TV Network . 4 October 2012 . Eriq . Gardner . . ...44-year-old Greek immigrant with a net worth of $1.7 billion.... . https://web.archive.org/web/20121005183213/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/alki-david-filmon-chris-brown-drake-charlie-sheen-376000 . 5 October 2012 . live.
  16. Web site: About the Designer . HaveFaith.com . 3 January 2012 . 3 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101031055746/http://www.havefaith.com/about/ . 31 October 2010.
  17. Web site: Reports: Coca-Cola heir arrested in Caribbean with $1.3M in cannabis, 5,000 plants aboard private jet. Danielle. Wallace. 14 May 2019. MSN. 14 May 2019. 14 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190514123254/https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/reports-coca-cola-heir-arrested-in-caribbean-with-dollar13m-in-cannabis-5000-plants-aboard-private-jet/ar-AABl0GR%3Focid%3Dspartandhp. dead.
  18. Web site: FilmOn to disrupt TV with new streaming channels . Digital Spy . 3 March 2013 . 12 January 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160112234936/http://www.digitalspy.com/media/news/a458001/filmon-to-disrupt-tv-with-new-streaming-channels/ . live.
  19. Billionaire Alki David Presents First Ever "Fight Night at BattleCam.com" . 7 February 2011 . BattleCam.com via PRWeb.com . 17 April 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110210102137/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/02/prweb5042824.htm . 10 February 2011 . dead.
  20. News: Alki Did It Again! – First Assisted Suicide Broadcast Live Over the Internet was a Promotion . Greek Reporter. 30 July 2011 . 29 March 2012 . Anastasios . Papapostolou. 20 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141220205119/http://hollywood.greekreporter.com/2011/07/30/alki-you-did-it-again-first-assisted-suicide-broadcast-live-over-the-internet-wasnt-real/ . live.
  21. Web site: About 9021go . 9021go.com . 17 April 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120423092739/http://www.9021go.com/pages/about.html . 23 April 2012.
  22. News: Billionaire Hollywood bad boy Alki David is resurrecting the dead with holograms . City AM . 6 November 2017. 6 November 2017.
  23. News: Alki David Drops CNET Lawsuit; Vows to Bring 'Expanded' Action . . 5 July 2011 . 29 March 2012 . Sam . Gustin . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120108055848/http://paidcontent.org/article/419-alki-david-drops-cnet-lawsuit-vows-to-bring-expanded-action/ . 8 January 2012 .
  24. Web site: CBS Interactive Again Accused of Contributing to Piracy. . 16 November 2011 . 18 November 2011.
  25. News: CNET sued over LimeWire, blamed for 'Internet Piracy Phenomenon' . Ars Technica. 4 May 2011 . 6 April 2012 . Nate . Anderson . 22 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110722014805/http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/05/cnet-sued-over-limewire-blamed-for-internet-piracy-phenomenon.ars . live.
  26. News: Alki David Fights TV Broadcasters' Lawsuit . . 27 June 2013 . Eriq . Gardner . 20 August 2013.
  27. News: Jury Awards $11M in Damages in Alki David Sexual Assault Trial . . 26 April 2019 . Ashley . Cullins . 26 April 2019.
  28. https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2020/lr24774.htm SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Hologram USA Networks Inc. and CEO in Offering Fraud Scheme
  29. "Arrested billionaire investor wanted to start cannabis business in Dominica," DNO, 15 May 2019 https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/arrested-billionaire-investor-wanted-to-start-cannabis-business-dominica/ See also: https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/05/jonathan-rhys-meyer-alki-david-cannabis-plants-private-jet-st-kitts