Obituaries : William Tavoulareas; Mobil Executive, Libel Suit Figure

William P. Tavoulareas, former president of Mobil Corp. and the plaintiff in a highly publicized libel suit against the Washington Post, died Saturday of complications after a stroke.

Tavoulareas, 75, died in Boca Raton, Fla., the company said Monday. He retired as president of Mobil in 1984 and retired from its board of directors in 1988.

From July 1969, when he became president, to 1983, the company grew from annual revenues of $7.6 billion to nearly $70 billion.

“Tav’s contribution to this company was both significant and substantial,” said Mobil Corp. Chairman Lucio A. Noto. “His personal strength, leadership and long-term vision were instrumental in allowing Mobil to grow into the leading company it is today.”

Tavoulareas graduated from St. John’s University and joined Mobil as an accountant in 1947. He held a series of financial and planning positions and was elected a director of Mobil Oil Corp. in 1965 and president and chief operating officer in 1969. In 1976 he was elected director, president and chief operating officer of the parent company, Mobil Corp.

His libel suit against the Washington Post resulted from a Nov. 1, 1979, front-page story that said he had set up his son, Peter, then 24, as a partner in a shipping firm with a multimillion-dollar management services contract with Mobil.

Although Tavoulareas initially won a $2-million jury verdict against the newspaper, it was overturned by an appeals court. Tavoulareas charged that the appeals court’s decision gave the news media a license to defame, but in 1987, the decision was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“The record abounds with uncontradicted evidence of nepotism in favor of Peter,” the appeals court said, rejecting Tavoulareas’ interpretation of the article, namely that it falsely alleged that the Mobil president had set up a dummy corporation to benefit his son.

In addition to his wife, Adele, and son, Peter, Tavoulareas is survived by another son, William; a daughter, Patrice; a sister, Helen, and four grandchildren.