Top 5 Richest People in Italy

When thinking of the richest people in the world, it is often people from the US, UK or China who come to mind. However, there are many people in Italy who have made millions. Here are the five richest people in Italy.

• Maria Franca Fissolo

Maria Franca Fissolo is the widow of Michele Ferrero. Her husband was worth $26 billion and he made his fortune in the food and candy industry. He owned several brands including Ferrero Rocher, Nutella, Tic Tacs, Mon Cheri, Kinder Chocolate and Kinder Eggs. Following his death in 2015, his wife, Maria, inherited the majority of his wealth and has a net worth of $22.2 billion.  This makes her the richest person in Italy.

• Leonardo Del Vecchio

With a net worth of $19.1 billion, Leonardo Del Vecchio is the second richest man in Italy and the 38^th wealthiest person in the world. Del Vecchio is an orphan who started his working life as a dye and tool apprentice. He then began making spectacle frames and sold them to eyeglass companies. He expanded his business and absorbed a distribution company before striking a deal with Armani and buying Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters, and Vogue. He now owns 6,000 stores and employs 73,000 people.

• The Agnelli Family

Although this is a family rather than an individual, the Agnelli family are worth $13.5 billion and nobody really knows who in the family has all the wealth. Andrea Agnelli is the president of Juventus football club a role in which his father also acted. The family as a whole also own Fiat and Exor.

• Miuccia Prada

Although her background is in political science, Miuccia Prada and her husband turned Prada into a global brand when she inherited the company from her grandfather. Prada became popular in the 1980s and the company has since bought many other brands. Miuccia is the 75^th most powerful woman in the world.

• Stefano Pessina

Pessina has a net worth of $10.4 billion which he has made in the pharmaceuticals industry. Originally, he managed a pharmaceutical wholesaler business but he merged this with Alliance UniChem. He is now the Executive Chairman of Alliance Boots, of which he owns 18 percent. He also owns 8 percent of Walgreens, a company for which he sat on the board of directors until 2012. Pessina now lives in Monaco.