MILAN, June 27 (Reuters) – Italian Leonardo Del Vecchio, who rose from childhood poverty to build the eyewear empire that owns brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley, has died at the age of 87, his company announced on Monday.

Del Vecchio added a touch of Italian flair to eyewear and became one of Europe’s richest men, investing some of his wealth to take stakes in Italian financial group Mediobanca (MDBI.MI) and the insurer Generali (GASI.MI). Read more

The billionaire founded the Luxottica company in 1961, initially to supply components for eyewear, and remained the chairman and main shareholder of the world’s largest eyewear group after its alliance with the French Essilor in 2018.

Fashion designer Giorgio Armani was among those paying tribute to Del Vecchio, with whom he had worked since the 1980s.

“Together, we invented a phenomenon that did not exist: we immediately realized that glasses, simple functional objects would become essential fashion accessories“, declared Armani. Read more

Partly raised in an orphanage, Del Vecchio’s rags-to-riches story reflected Italy’s own post-World War II recovery.

“A figurehead of Italian commerce for more than 60 years, Del Vecchio has created one of the country’s greatest companies from humble beginnings,” said Prime Minister Mario Draghi, calling the entrepreneur a “great Italian”. .

SHOCK SENDS EQUITIES LOWER

Italian media said Del Vecchio died at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan after being admitted with pneumonia.

He had remained an active and influential figure in Italian affairs and his death came as a shock.

“EssilorLuxottica announces today with sadness the death of its chairman,” the group said in a statement, adding that the board of directors would meet to “determine the next steps”.

He remained executive chairman of EssilorLuxottica (ESLX.PA) until December 2020, when he handed day-to-day management of the business to chief executive Francesco Milleri, a longtime ally.

Del Vecchio’s influence has extended beyond his own company and by the end of 2021 he was the second richest man in Italy behind Giovanni Ferrero of Nutella’s manufacturing group, according to Forbes.

His death raises questions about what will happen to his 32% stake in EssilorLuxottica and other investments. He had six children but no publicly named heir.

Its Delfin holding company is the largest shareholder in Italian financial services group Mediobanca (MDBI.MI) and has a stake of just under 10% in Italy’s biggest insurer Generali (GASI.MI). It also owns around 27% of the real estate company Covivio (CVO.PA), listed in both Paris and Milan.

Shares of EssilorLuxottica were down 1.6% at 1330 GMT, while those of Generali and Mediobanca both fell more than 2.5%.

Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi, additional reporting by Giulia Segreti and Federico Maccioni, writing by Keith Weir Editing by Barbara Lewis

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