Leonardo Del Vecchio, the Italian entrepreneur who started with a tiny optics workshop in Italy’s Dolomite mountains and ended up as the undisputed world leader in eyewear, has died. He was 87.
His death was reported by Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Monday. A spokesman for his company was not immediately available for comment.
Raised in a Milan orphanage, Del Vecchio struck out from the northern city to set up shop in the town of Agordo, in the Alps north of Venice, beginning as a small supplier of frame parts to local eyeglass makers.
His company, EssilorLuxottica, rode a series of acquisitions to eventually become the world leader in the industry.
Globally recognised names Ray-Ban and Oakley were among the scores of eyewear brands Mr Del Vecchio bought on his way to the top.
His net worth was $25.7 billion as of June 1, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Mr Del Vecchio held a controlling 32 per cent stake in EssilorLuxottica, the French-Italian eyewear business that resulted from the 2018 merger of Luxottica with French lens company Essilor.
The company, which makes frames for luxury houses such as Armani and Prada, in addition to owning brands such as Ray-Ban, has more than 180,000 employees, operations spanning the globe and a foothold in the luxury and medical technology sectors.
EssilorLuxottica is both the world’s top eyewear retailer and its biggest producer of corrective lenses.
