Leonardo Del Vecchio, the Italian entrepreneur who started off with a tiny optics workshop in the Dolomite mountains and ended up as the undisputed world leader in eyewear, died today at the age of 87 on Monday.
He was the chairman of spectacles maker EssilorLuxottica, which owned Ray-ban and one of Italy's wealthiest business figures.
He remained executive chairman of EssilorLuxottica until December 2020, when he handed the day-to-day leadership of the company to Chief Executive Francesco Milleri, Reuters reported.
"EssilorLuxottica sadly announces today that its chairman has passed away," the group said in a statement, adding that the board would meet to "determine the next steps".
Del Vecchio’s net worth was $25.7 billion as of June 1, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His death was reported by the Italian daily Corriere Della Sera on Monday.
The Italian businessman founded Luxottica in 1961 and built up a company which owns the Ray-Ban brand and combined forces with France's Essilor in a major merger in 2018.
(with sources inputs)
