Leonardo Del Vecchio
Born22 May 1935 (1935-05-22)
Milan, Italy
Died27 June 2022(2022-06-27) (aged 87)
Segrate, Italy
Occupation(s)Founder and chairman of Luxottica
Known forSunglass Hut, LensCrafters, Ray-Ban, Oakley
Children6, including Claudio Del Vecchio

Leonardo Del Vecchio (22 May 1935 – 27 June 2022) was an Italian billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman of Luxottica,[1] the world's largest producer and retailer of glasses and frames,[2] with 77,734 employees and over 8,000 stores.[3] At the time of his death, his net worth was estimated at US$24.1 billion, the second richest person in Italy, and 54th in the world.[4][5]

Life and career

Leonardo Del Vecchio was born on 22 May 1935 in Milan, Italy to an impoverished family from Barletta, Southern Italy. His father was a street vendor of vegetables who died before his birth and his mother already had four other children; he grew up in an orphanage.[6][2] He began his career as an apprentice to a tool and die maker in Milan, but decided to turn his metalworking skills to make spectacle parts. In 1961, he moved to Agordo in the province of Belluno, which is home to most of the Italian eyewear industry.[2] The new company was Luxottica s.a.s., a limited partnership.

In 1967, he started selling complete spectacle frames under the Luxottica brand, and in 1971 he entered the contact manufacturing business.

In 1974, he acquired Scarrone, a distribution company. In 1981, the company set up its first international subsidiary in Germany. A licensing deal with the designer Giorgio Armani was settled in 1988.

The company was listed in New York in 1990, and in Milan in December 2000, joining the MIB-30 (now S&P/MIB) index in September 2003. The listing enhanced the company's ability to acquire other brands, starting with Italian brand Vogue in 1990, Persol and US Shoe Corporation (LensCrafters) in 1995, Ray-Ban in 1999 and Sunglass Hut, Inc. in 2001.[7]

They went looking for more retail companies, acquiring Sydney-based OPSM in 2003, Pearle Vision in 2004, Surfeyes in 2006, and Cole National in 2004. They acquired Oakley in a US$2.1 billion deal in November 2007.[8]

Del Vecchio owned a 10% stake in Italian investment bank Mediobanca.[9]

Shareholdings

Personal life

Del Vecchio was married three times. He had a total of six children, and lived in Milan.[5] He had one son, Claudio Del Vecchio, and two daughters, Marisa and Paola, with his first wife. With his second wife he had another son, Leonardo Maria; and with his third wife two sons, Luca and Clemente.[13][14] He remarried his second wife in 2010.[13]

Death

Del Vecchio died from pneumonia at San Raffaele Hospital in Segrate, an eastern suburb of Milan on 27 June 2022 at the age of 87.[15][16] The news of his death was announced by his company in a statement. "EssilorLuxottica sadly announces today that its chairman has passed away," the group said in a statement, adding that the board would meet to "determine the next steps".[17]

References

  1. ^ "From Laurene Powell Jobs to Leonardo del Vecchio, opportunity knocks for the world's richest people | The National". Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Knight, Sam (10 May 2018). "The spectacular power of Big Lens". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Luxottica Group on the Forbes World's Most Innovative Companies List". Forbes. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Leonardo Del Vecchio". Bloomberg. 27 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Forbes profile: Leonardo Del Vecchio". Forbes. 3 January 2019.
  6. ^ Kandell, Jonathan (27 June 2022). "Leonardo Del Vecchio Dies at 87; Transformed Eyeglass Industry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Luxottica to buy Sunglass Hut for $462M – Feb. 22, 2001". money.cnn.com. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  8. ^ Ram, Vidya. "Luxottica's Shade-less Deal With Oakley". Forbes. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Del Vecchio rules out push for control of Mediobanca after raising stake". Reuters. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Holding Luxottica".
  11. ^ "Holding Covivio". Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  12. ^ "Holding Generali=12 agosto 2014". Archived from the original on 12 August 2014.
  13. ^ a b Za, Valentina (16 January 2017). "Luxottica's merger helps Del Vecchio manage family risks". reuters.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Leonardo Del Vecchio – The Florentine". theflorentine.net. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  15. ^ Gambarini, Francesca (27 June 2022). "È morto Leonardo Del Vecchio, il fondatore di Luxottica aveva 87 anni". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  16. ^ Cristoferi, Claudia; Segreti, Giulia (27 June 2022). "Italian eyewear billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio dies at 87". Reuters. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Leonardo Del Vecchio, Billionaire Ray-Ban Owner, Dies at 87". Bloomberg.com. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
Categories