Gianluigi Aponte
Born (1940-06-27) 27 June 1940 (age 83)
Sant'Agnello, Italy
Alma materIstituto Tecnico Nautico Statale Nino Bixio
Occupation(s)Founder, Mediterranean Shipping Company
SpouseRafaela Diamant
Children2

Gianluigi Aponte (Italian pronunciation: [dʒanluˈiːdʒi aˈponte]; born 27 June 1940) is an Italian billionaire businessman, and the founder, owner and chairman of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).

Early life

Gianluigi Aponte was born in Sant'Agnello, Italy (near Sorrento, in the province of Naples)[1] on 27 June 1940.[2]

Career

Aponte is a Neapolitan captain, who entered the shipping industry in 1970 together with his spouse, Rafaela Aponte-Diamant. At the time, the newly-formed company owned a single vessel that shipped cargo between Europe and Africa.[3] With the growth of his business, he made a move into the cruise industry in 1988. As of 2014, he had retired from the position of CEO and president in favour of his son Diego Aponte, assuming the role of executive chairman within MSC.[4]

Honours

In 2009, at the Teatro di San Carlo of Naples, he received, along with Fabio Cannavaro, Ambra Vallo and others, a prize for "Neapolitan Excellence in the World" from then-Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.[5]

In 2012, he won the Cruise International Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his long term activity in the industry.[6]

In October 2013, he received Containerisation International’s Lifetime Achievement Award,[7] as well as a knighthood, the Order of Merit for Labour, from Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.[8] The Aponte family have featured prominently in the Lloyd's List Top 100 most influential people in the shipping industry, named in the top 10 in 2014 and in position 16 in 2018.[9][10]

Personal life

He is married to Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, a Swiss woman of Israeli origin, and daughter of a Geneva banker, he met when she was a passenger on a boat of which he was the captain.[11][12] They have two children, Diego Aponte and Alexa Aponte Vago, who serve respectively as CEO and CFO of MSC.[12][13]

References

  1. ^ "Forbes profile: Gianluigi & Rafaela Aponte". Forbes. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  2. ^ "La traversata del marinaio di Sorrento" (PDF). Goffredolocatelli.it. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
  3. ^ Saltmarsh, Matthew. "Shipping Magnate Takes a New Tack: The Cruise Business", The New York Times [online], October 29, 2010. Accessed 21 April 2015
  4. ^ Brett, Damian. "Diego Aponte becomes MSC president", Lloyd's List, Containerisation International, 2 October 2014. Accessed 14 April 2015
  5. ^ Andersen, Ole. "Introducing Maersk Line's new Neapolitan partner". shippingwatch.com. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  6. ^ "MSC Cruises' Founder Receives Cruise International's Lifetime Achievement Award, MSC Cruises, 13 September 2012. Accessed 21 April 2015
  7. ^ "Containers - Aponte wins Lifetime Achievement Award - Lloyd's List". Lloydslist.com. 2013-10-24. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
  8. ^ "MSC’s Aponte Receives Italian Order of Merit for Labor ", Cruise Industry News, 15 October 2013. Accessed 21 April 2015
  9. ^ "Top 100 - 6. Aponte Family, Mediterranean Shipping Co - Lloyd's List". Lloydslist.com. 2014-12-12. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
  10. ^ "16 Aponte family, Mediterranean Shipping Co". Lloyd's List. 2018-12-13. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  11. ^ "Gianluigi Aponte e la MSC Crociere - Grandi personaggi - Impresa Oggi". www.impresaoggi.com. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Bloomberg Billionaires Profile". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Gianluigi & Rafaela Aponte". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-22.

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