How Much is Leonardo Del Vecchio Worth? Leonardo Del Vecchio's Total Wealth ( Updated) Net Worth 2026: Career Earnings & Assets

As one of the most talked-about figures, Leonardo Del Vecchio has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.

What Was Leonardo Del Vecchio's Net Worth?

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Leonardo Del Vecchio died on June 27, 2022, at the age of 87. He was survived by a wife and six children from three relationships, aged 18 to 65.

Luxottica Brands and Retail Locations

Del Vecchio began selling spectacle frames under the Luxottica name in 1967. After achieving significant success, he decided to vertically integrate and acquired the distribution company Scarrone in 1974. Later, in the early 80s, Luxottica established its first international subsidiary, which was in Germany. By the end of the decade, the company had further expanded internationally and struck its first of numerous licensing deals with the designer brand Armani. Luxottica subsequently went public in New York in 1990 and in Milan in 2000. With the money raised from its stock listing, the company purchased a number of brands, including Vogue Eyewear, Persol, Ray-Ban, and Sunglass Hut, Inc. It went on to boost its retail presence by acquiring OPSM, Pearle Vision, and Cole National in the early 2000s. A major acquisition came in 2007, when Luxottica bought Oakley for $2.1 billion. The brand was dropped from the company's stores after it disputed prices, causing it to be hostilely taken over by Luxottica.

Luxottica offers both sunglasses and prescription frames, and is involved in both manufacturing and distribution. Its house brands include Alain Mikli, Persol, Ray-Ban, Steroflex, Oliver Peoples, and Costa Del Mar. Additionally, it creates eyewear under license for such designer labels asGiorgio Armani, Chanel, Coach, Miu Miu, Prada,Ralph Lauren,Tory Burch, and Versace. Luxottica maintains over 9,000 retail locations around the world, in places including Canada, China, Australia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Its brands are sold in stores such as LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, OPSM, Spectacle Hut, Laubman & Pank, and Econópticas. Additionally, Luxottica owns EyeMed Vision Care, one of the largest vision benefits companies in the United States.

Leonardo Del Vecchio was born on May 22, 1935, in Milan, Italy. He grew up in a poor family from Barletta, Southern Italy. When Leonardo was just five months old, his father passed away. At the age of seven, he was sent to an orphanage because his widowed mother was unable to support him and his four siblings. Del Vecchio started his career at the age of 14, working as an apprentice to a tool and die maker in Milan. He subsequently chose to use his metalworking skills to create eyeglass parts. Leonardo went to the Brera Academy of Art and earned a degree in engraving in 1958. In 1961, he relocated to the town of Agordo in the Province of Belluno, which is the center of the eyewear industry in Italy. There, he founded the company Luxottica with financial backing from two early customers.

Leonardo Del Vecchio was an Italian billionaire businessman who had a net worth of $30 billion at the time of his death in June 2022. Leonardo Del Vecchio is best known as the founder and chairman of Luxottica, the biggest producer and retailer of glasses and frames in the world. The company has more than 9,000 retail stores around the world, employing over 77,000 people. At the time of his death, Del Vecchio was therichest person in Italyand one of the 70 richest people in the world.

A new organizational structure for Luxottica was announced in 2014, featuring two co-CEOs who split their focus between market development and corporate functions. This was followed by a period of rapid turnover, as Andrea Guerra was replaced as CEO by Enrico Cavatorta, who then stepped down 40 days after his own appointment. A third CEO was lost in 2016 when Adil Mehboob-Khan left the company a year after succeeding Cavatorta. In 2017, Luxottica agreed on a merger with French-based ophthalmic company Essilor International. The next year saw the founding of the new holding company EssilorLuxottica, which has a combined market capitalization of around €57 billion.

Ultimately, Leonardo Del Vecchio's financial journey is a testament to their success.

Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.