TORONTO – Triple Group of Companies (TGC) announced on February 16 the sudden death of Chairman and CEO Andreas (Andy) Apostolopoulos. He passed away peacefully at his home on February 15. He was 69 years old.

The Greek-Canadian billionaire is best known as the modest businessman who revitalized properties in empty business areas and communities, redeveloping them into useful income-producing assets. 

In 2009, Apostolopoulos made international headlines when his investment company purchased the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. He had also been in the news recently for the problems at the Penobscot building in Detroit which Apostolopoulos had purchased in 2012. In 2015, the real estate family, led by Apostolopoulos and his three sons, announced a visionary casino and entertainment complex in Pickering, Ontario, known as Durham Live. The project is currently in development. 

Apostolopoulos immigrated to Canada as a teenager in 1969 from Messini, Kalamata in Greece. He began working as a laborer with a keen business sense, before starting his own office-cleaning company, followed by a plastic bag manufacturing firm. Soft-spoken with a relentless drive, his dare-to-dream mentality paved the way to commercial real estate investment and redevelopment. Along with his three sons, he built one of Canada's largest privately held real estate corporations into a multi-billion dollar empire from the ground up. Today, Triple Group owns and manages commercial and industrial real estate internationally.

Apostolopoulos' ability to inspire, encourage and support those around him to achieve their dream best defines his legacy. In addition to his outstanding business achievements, he received an honorary degree, and he was a giving philanthropist.

Apostolopoulos was a proud Greek-Canadian, a passionate businessman, and above all, a deeply devoted family man. He is survived by his wife, sons Jim, Peter and Steve, their spouses, and five grandchildren.