ROME —
Italy’s second richest man, eyewear magnate
Leonardo Del Vecchio, has died at age 87 after building an optical empire that
saw him buy up major brands like Ray-Ban, Persol, and Oakley.
اضافة اعلان
Del Vecchio was
one of Italy’s most successful businessmen, building from scratch an
international company that helped turn eyeglasses into a coveted — and pricey —
fashion accessory.
His fortune was
worth an estimated $27.3 billion, according to Forbes’ 2022 World’s
Billionaires List.
His company
EssilorLuxottica confirmed Monday that he had “passed away” at age 87.
Del Vecchio had
been in intensive care at Milan’s San Raffaele hospital in recent weeks,
according to Italian news agency AGI.
Born May 22,
1935 in Milan to a poor family, he spent part of his youth in an orphanage and
began working as a teenager.
He founded his
own company, Luxottica, in 1961, supplying the optical industry with
components.
A decade later,
Del Vecchio made the strategic decision to control all parts of the production
process.
Luxottica began
making its own eyeglasses, distributing them throughout Italy before expanding
in Europe through joint ventures.
He spotted the
advantage of partnering with fashion design brands, including Giorgio Armani,
branched out into retail and snatched up trendy eyewear brands like Ray-Ban,
Persol, and Oakley.
He signed a
first license agreement with Giorgio Armani in the 1980s, as eyewear morphed
into a fashion accessory, a trend that continues today.
Luxottica also
bought such retailers as LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut, allowing the company to
tap the consumer market directly without intermediaries.
In 2018,
Luxottica merged with France’s Essilor to become EssilorLuxottica, with Del
Vecchio serving as chairman. In 2021, the publicly traded company posted 19.8
billion euros ($20.9 billion) in revenue.
“Leonardo Del Vecchio
was a great Italian,” wrote the
EU’s economic affairs commissioner Paolo
Gentiloni on Twitter, calling his success “an example for today and
tomorrow”.
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