Italian businessman Leonardo del Vecchio, one of the richest people in Italy, has died aged 87. He was one of the big men behind the eyewear group EssilorLuxottica, known for the sunglasses of the Ray-Ban brand and now also the parent company of the Pearle optical chain.
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Del Vecchio, whose wealth, according to Bloomberg’s wealthy list, amounted to nearly $26 billion (24.6 billion euros), founded Luxottica in 1961. He later expanded that company into a large international group that produces both lenses for glasses and frames.
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Over the years, leading brands such as Vogue, Ray-Ban and Oakley were incorporated. And in 2018, they joined forces with the French Essilor. EssilorLuxottica then announced in 2019 that it would acquire Dutch optics group GrandVision, thereby acquiring Pearle’s eyewear stores.
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The latter acquisition involved more than 7 billion euros. The deal could only be finalized after the necessary legal wrangling between the parties. GrandVision eventually disappeared from the Amsterdam stock exchange at the beginning of this year.
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Del Vecchio was still involved with the group as chairman. Through investment vehicle Delfin, he also owned almost a tenth of Generali, Italy’s largest insurer. He also had other interests in Italian business
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