“EssilorLuxottica announces with deep sorrow the passing of Chairman
The statement said EssilorLuxottica’s board would meet to “determine the next steps.”
Italian media said Del Vecchio died in a
From a start in a
On Forbes' list of richest persons, Del Vecchio and his family was ranked last year at No. 60, with assets of
Del Vecchio's father sold vegetables on the streets of
What started as a company housed in a trailer steadily grew into a sprawling complex, a 90-minute drive from
Del Vecchio found gold by turning the rather mundane necessity of life into “designer frames” for prescription glasses and sunglasses. The
Two moves as he expanded his business were widely considered key. One strategy saw him invest in the retail sector, opening
Del Vecchio’s empire expanded with a deal, announced in 2018, with France’s
But Del Vecchio took care to keep his family financial vehicle, the holding company Delfin. In its latest configuration, Del Vecchio held 25% of its capital. Under Delfin’s umbrella are considerable stakes in banking and insurance companies as well.
Unlike some of
Corriere della Sera daily quoted him as saying of his early mentors in the trade: “They left me with several important lessons — discipline, method and competence.”
Del Vecchio preached simplicity. “For years my lunch was based on boiled cabbage. Its smell reminds me of the great effort, the dream that I had to do something that was mine, even if small, but where I could put to use my ideas and my abilities,″ the
He remained untouched by the corruption scandals that rocked Italian business and political power spheres in the early 1990s.
"I don't like paying taxes, but I like sleeping at night,'' Del Vecchio told The Associated Press in an interview at company headquarters in 1995.
Premier
“For more than 60 years a protagonist of Italian entrepreneurship, Del Vecchio created one of the biggest companies of the country, starting out from humble origins,” Draghi said in a written statement. The industrialist “brought the community of Agordo and the entire country to the center of the world of innovation," the Italian premier said.
Del Vecchio married three times, including two times with his second wife,
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