Billionaires in Italy are increasingly richer

Inflation in Italy is at +0.8% on an annual basis, in Milan, the capital of Lombardy, the average rent costs 22 euros per square meter, social mobility is a mirage, and the middle class continues to struggle. Despite the country experiencing a moment of profound crisis, both economic and social and identity-related, which gathers the remnants of Covid and reflects all the geopolitical instabilities of two wars, a survey conducted by Forbes reminds us that the climb is still possible for some. 2023 ended with a positive figure for Italian billionaires who, faced with the challenge of another tumultuous year, had still managed to close their balance sheets with great satisfaction. The super-rich in the country amount to 70 in total and are growing visibly: they are 20 more than in 2022, six more than in April when the annual billionaire ranking was released, and one more than in July when Forbes Italy updated the list with the entry of Silvio Berlusconi's children. Their total wealth is 230.1 billion, nearly 70 billion more than at the end of 2022, but three billion less than in July. A positive note also concerns the gender gap: with 19 female billionaires, Italy ranks fourth in the world for the number of women with nine-figure accounts, a list led by heiress Massimiliana Landini Aleotti, owner of the pharmaceutical company Menarini (7.3 billion dollars), and fashion designer Miuccia Prada (5.8 billion). The richest overall? Giovanni Ferrero, the confectionery magnate and second son of Michele Ferrero, with a fortune of 39.1 billion dollars: more than triple that of the second-ranked, Giorgio Armani (12.9 billion).

The billionaires on the podium have all bolstered their finances in the past year: Forbes highlights how Ferrero, with a wealth increase of 4.5 billion compared to 2022, is currently the 32nd richest person in the world and the fifth in Europe, behind the owners of the Lvmh (Bernard Arnault), Zara (Amancio Ortega), L’Oréal (Françoise Bettencourt Meyers), and Lidl/Kaufland (Dieter Schwarz) empires. Armani has 6 billion more than a year ago, but despite the achievements and his 89 years, he shows no signs of relinquishing the throne and remains the sole shareholder of his company: “Everyone tells me to retire and enjoy the fruits of what I have built, but I say no. Absolutely not” he declared to the Financial Times. Ferrari has seen its wealth rise by over 3 billion in the last 12 months, thanks to a 61% growth in the stock of the automotive company, of which he owns about 10%. The first woman in the ranking, in fourth place, is Massimiliana Landini Aleotti, followed by Sergio Stevanato, chairman emeritus of Stevanato Group, with 6.7 billion, one of the world's leading producers of glass vials and cartridges for insulin pens. In sixth place are the couple Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli (4.5 billion), followed by Giuseppe De’Longhi (4.4 billion). Ninth is Giuseppe Crippa (4.1 billion), founder of Technoprobe, one of the world's two major producers of test boards for microchips.

The top ten is rounded off with a tie among 11 billionaires, including the eight heirs of Leonardo Del Vecchio, founder and chairman of Luxottica and executive chairman of EssilorLuxottica, the world's largest producer and seller of glasses and lenses: his children Claudio, Clemente, Leonardo, Luca, Marisa, and Paola, the widow, Nicoletta Zampillo, and Rocco Basilico, born from Zampillo's previous marriage to banker Paolo Basilico. Also at 4 billion are builder and publisher Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, Campari Group chairman Luca Garavoglia, and the only newcomer to occupy such a high position in the ranking: Giancarlo Devasini, CFO of Tether, a stablecoin company based in the British Virgin Islands.