The Forbes Rich List 2022 has been released. Italy has 15 entrants with estimated worth ranging from 36.2 to 3.8 billion dollars.
At the top of the 2022 Forbes Rich List is Elon Musk, with a net worth of $219billion. The first Italian on the list comes in at #36 – Giovanni Ferrero.
Ferrero, whose eponymous family business includes Nutella and Ferrero Rocher chocolates, is worth $36.2billion. The company posted $14billion in sales last year, despite the pandemic. Forbes quotes Ferrero as saying, “I strongly believe that attention to employees’ needs, to their families, to their life even when they quit working, cements a social cohesion that is mutually beneficial.”
15 Italian billionaires on the Forbes Rich List
Ferrero sits atop 15 other Italian billionaires. The next richest, in 52nd place, is Leonardo Del Vecchio with a net worth of $27.3billion. Described by Forbes as a “vision visionary”, del Vecchio founded eyewear giant Luxottica in 1961, at the age 25.
Designer Giorgio Armani is third among the Italians on $7.8 billion. Meanwhile media mogul and ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi is the fourth of the Italians on $7.1 billion.
Fashion and Retail makes a strong showing with the De’Longhi family known for their coffee makers, and the Prada husband and wife team among the billionaires.
