Karina was born in Manhattan, to Antigone Kyriakopoulou, daughter of Judge Aristomenis Kyriakopoulos and Kalliope Panoutsopoulou, and Perry Sava (Perikles Eleftherios Hadjisavas) the son of Kyriakos Hadjisavas, a leading tobacco merchant and member of Noble Swedish family- Karin Albertina Augustina Angeline.

Her Mother, Antigone, was born in Greece at the end of the Second World War, and was educated in the United States at Columbia University, where she met Karina’s father, Perry. Perry was born in the Hague, Netherlands and lived his early years in Dresden Germany and early adulthood in Hamburg, Germany during WWII.

He was educated at prestigious schools in Great Britain, and spent his summers in Greece, with his Godfather and father’s business partner Evangelos Papastratos. In 1949 he left Hamburg, and relocated to San Francisco, in order to work for William Randolph Hearst publications. His passion for the sea, led him to abandon the family tobacco ‘empire’, at which point he decided to follow his dream and get involved in the Shipping Business, which moved him to New York City to work for Eagle Ocean Transport.

Karina was raised and educated in Lausanne, Switzerland at Chateau Mont-Choisi and at the Ecole Polytechnique, Athenaeum. After completing her studies in Lausanne, Karina returned to New York, in order to continue her education at the New York School of Interior Design, where she graduated with Honors and was awarded the renowned “Decorator’s Club Award of Excellence” in Design, which exhibited her interest of yacht interior design.

She later married real estate entrepreneur and former professional swimmer, (winner of Nationals 1980) Justin Emmett Kaufman, who at the young age of twenty-five sold the infamous Tiffany Building on Manhattan’s 57th street to Dai-Ichi, the Japanese Bank. Son of Dr. Ira H. Kaufman, highly-esteemed ophthalmologist and Professor at Cornell University and Dawn Gruwell Kaufman, former actress at 20th Century Fox, and daughter of Hazel Dawn, the infamous “Pink Lady”.

Together they had two children, Tatiana Alexia Theodosia, born August 10th 1988 and Justin Nicholas Emmett, born December 25th, 1989. Justin and Karina were a ‘powerful’ couple in the social circles of Manhattan, combining their youthful energy, talent and upbringing and were recognized for their successful fundraising accomplishments and business affairs.

In 1993, Karina relocated to Athens Greece, after her divorce with Justin, in order to provide a more natural and nurturing environment for Tatiana and Nicholas. Nevertheless, to this day, Karina and Justin remain business partners, collaborating on various commodity and development projects, internationally.

On the 20th of May, 2000 Perry Sava of Pontos Shipping & Trading Inc. passed away. And ever since Karina has been dedicated to keeping her father’s legacy alive and has been responsible for its evolution into Pontos Imperial Yachts & Real Estate.

Karina has recently relocated her ‘base’ to Los Angeles, California where she is collaborating with her children Tatiana and Nicholas on various projects in Film and Music.







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