In his lifetime, Del Vecchio went from being raised in an orphanage to becoming one of the wealthiest people in Europe — a poster child of Italy’s post-world war 2 economy.
“Leonardo Del Vecchio was a great Italian. His story, from orphanage to leadership of a business empire, seems like a story from another time. But it is an example for today and tomorrow. RIP,” said European Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni on Twitter.
Luxottica, which owns the Ray-Ban brand, was founded in 1961. The company went on to join forces with France’s Essilor in 2018.
Post-merger, Del Vecchio was named the executive chairman of EssilorLuxottica — a role he held until December 2020.
Del Vecchio commanded an oversized influence not only in the fashion and retail world but also outside of it. His Delfin holds company has a 10% stake in Generali, Italy’s largest insurer. It is also the largest shareholder in Italian financial services group Mediobanca.
Many power figures from the fashion world came forward and reacted to the news of Del Vecchio’s passing.
“Together, we invented a phenomenon that did not exist: we immediately realized that glasses, from simple, functional objects, would become indispensable fashion accessories,” said Giorgio Armani, who had worked with Del Vecchio since the 1980s.
